CK Banter #4: We, the EVE-bloggers.

Welcome to the forth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by yours truly. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

Manasi asks "How do we, EVE bloggers, adapt to changes as they are thrust upon us (speed changes, no more ghost training, all the dev blogs, etc), or as our lives make playing the game different (more time, less time)?".

As CCP expands and commits more resources to EVE, and as the player-base continues to grow, the flow of newsworthy content will increase. In my humble opinion, it is the responsibility of the EVE blogger to serve the community in several ways.

We, as members of the EVE blogging community, have two charges. The first is the player. More players will come to rely on us to decrypt CCP information. Simply regurgitating dev blogs won't be enough. We'll have to break it down for the noobs and help vets to adapt old strats. People will come to us for educated opinion, not a wall of text they saw on an RSS feed straight from CCP.

The second group that relies on us is CCP itself. They're reading and paying attention. We know they are. When the dredge of the forums becomes too much, they look to us much like they look to the CSM, or how businesses look to focus groups. We have to become an effective conduit between CCP and the community.

How do we serve everyone? we stay informed and communicative. Carebear blogs comment on and promote pirate blogs. RP blogs comment on and promote industry blogs. We write about our experiences and each other's experiences. We right guides about what to do and what not to do. When there's outrage in the community, we serve as a calm and objective voice for everyone involved. We admonish CCP when they screw around, players when they act like a mob, and ourselves when we get too self-serving or righteous.

Must we adapt to do this? Not really. I think we're already doing a good job... but we can always do better.

o7

Participants:

Participants:

• Attitude is Everything
• "If I could save time in a bottle…."
• The Game with the Thousand Faces
  
• [OOC] January's Blog Banter
• New Ballgames, Same Home Team
  
• EVE Blog Banter #4: I Don't Know
• Adaptation
• CK's Blog Banter #4
• Roll With the Punches
• Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
  
• We, the EVE-bloggers
• Adapt or Die
• I'm in ur blogosphere, hijackin' ur Blog Banter (4)
• Blog Banter
• Opportunity or Burden?
• Mystic Pizza
• "Stay on target…"
  
• January EVE Blog Banter
• Re-Prioritization
  
• Bonzai in my Bookcase
• Delicious!
• EVE blog banter: Adaptation
• No more to come!
  

6th Alliance Tournament: 2nd qualifier match picks.

I didn't think I'd do this, but it'll probably be funny if I get a few right. Feel free to tell me I'm dead-wrong, flame me, cheer for your team, etc...


DAY 1.

Dawn of Transcendence
Exquisite Malevolence
Fifth Freedom
Intrepid Crossing
Frater Adhuc Excessum
R.E.P.O
Atrocitas
RUDE Alliance
Ushra'Khan
Manifest Destiny.
The Wrong Alliance
Gallente Factional Warfare Team
G00DFELLAS
Firmus Ixion
Electus Matari
The Bastards.


DAY 2

Minmatar Factional Warfare Team
Chain of Chaos
Celestial Imperative
Systematic-Chaos
Otherworld Empire Productions
Gay4Life
Agony Empire
Molotov Coalition
PROBABLE CAUSE
Evoke
Against ALL Authorities
R.U.R.
Pandemic Legion
The Star Fraction
Unaffiliated
PuPPet MasTers


o7

Prano's Journey #4: The Gift.

Pator. Homeworld of the Minmatar Republic.

Gigaer stood on a mountain plateau overlooking a vast savanna.

In ancient times many Minmatar warriors crossed this vast plain on foot as part of a spiritual pilgrimage. The mountain at the centre of the plain was a dead volcano, and within the caldera was a small hidden temple where warrior monks resided. These monks never ventured into the outside world, and were constantly in one form of meditation or another. It was here that a warrior proved himself or herself worthy and received their kandjal.

After the week-long trek across the savanna, a climb up the steep sides of the volcano and proving his or her worth to the temple leaders, a month-long regimen of physical and spiritual purification took place, where several rituals meant to cleanse the warrior of evil spirits and poisons occurred. Many of these rituals were by no means safe, and were in actuality meant to test the warriors fortitude as much as cleanse the body and soul.

A warrior did not “receive” a kandjal exactly. The warrior had to learn how they were made and maintained, though certain secrets of their construction remain known only to the monks. The warrior gathered the materials needed to make the blade, extending handle (with all the internal mechanisms) and scabbard. The most important of materials was the metal called Tetralithium. The only place in known space it can be found was from within this volcano. When refined, folded and tempered, it had a mirror finish, was light and very strong.

Most unique, when quick motion was applied, tetralithium vibrated, creating whistling and humming sounds vaguely similar to a wind instrument. Every kandjal had a unique sound, as every imperfection and fold within the metal blade changed how sympathetic vibrations traveled. Those ever-changing sounds became a warrior's signature. The metal had no real commercial value, but was essential to the creation of the kandjal.

The volcano and the surrounding savanna was sacred ground to all Minmatar, and it had been untouched by technology and development as a result.

Gigaer saw himself standing on the border between old and new. It was his duty to revive the old ways for all Minmatar, but to accomplish that, some rules had to be bent. Matari society is now part of a larger galactic community, and as much as he would have liked to just turn back the clock, things were never going to be the same. Minmatar had changed, and Gigaer had to change the old ways to make them at least applicable in this new age.

Gigaer stowed the new kandjal in his pack. It was not his. The markings upon the weapon were not of the Prano clan. Gigaer made the trek and endured the rituals on behalf of someone else, which was forbidden in ancient times. Breaking such an important tradition was a thought Gigaer did not enjoy in the slightest. The monks were extremely displeased at Gigaer's plan, but as the sole carrier of the Prano name, he had right to force compliance in these matters. Gigaer had also convinced them to record a video showing the basic use and maintenance of the kandjal, while in the past such information was traditionally passed though personal instruction only.

“Things change, even things that were never meant to. Things that don't change, die. I won't let this die.” Gigaer said aloud as he set back down the mountain on his long journey back to civilization.

A week later, the kandjal and recording would but sent to its destined owner, Colonel Roc Wieler of the Tribal Liberation Force.

o7

Resident Evil 5 Demo and The Maw

Double review!

I was never a fan of the Resident Evil series. I've tried all of them and It's never struck me as an innovative or entertaining franchise. True to my "benefit of the doubt" approach to it, I downloaded the RE5 demo for my 360 and gave it an hour of my time.

It's definitely the prettiest RE game thus far, but that has to be expected considering how far other games are pushing the software. Visuals and audio are not surprising, but pleasing.

One of my biggest gripes about RE games is that the controls always seem needlessly stiff. If compared to Dead Space, it was difficult to maneuver and get from point A to B smoothly. Being able to evade is a key aspect of a game like this, and I was constantly fighting the controls in an effort to save my life.

An interesting development is the use of a partner, who can be controlled by another player locally or over the Live service. You can help your partner get to different places and assist each other in ways other that shooting, but that's nothing really new. The computer control of your partner was adequate, but just barely.

Honestly, I don't think I'll be getting this, but if you've liked the RE series thus far, you'll love this installment.

Now to switch gears completely, an XBLA exclusive, The Maw.

First seen at PAX '08 and winning a few awards for originality in an independent title, your character travels with a little purple eating machine called Maw. Maw is part weapon, part companion and part vehicle. He grows as he eats and takes on new powers as he goes. The entire game is very simple and cute, from the controls to the music.

It's a cheap game and worth your time if you're a casual gamer or a hardcore 1337 machine. DLC has already been announced, and even adding the cost of that into it, you get some pretty decent bang for your buck with this title. Get it, and support the indie game community.

o7

6th Alliance Tournament: 1st qualifier.

I didn't think I'd be able to follow the tourney matches in an audio-only format, but HUGE props to EVE-Radio, Split Infinity Radio and New Eden Radio, they really did a great job. Good tunes, good commentary and blow-by-blows that actually made sense. It's also very cool to be able to watch the fights the next day on YouTube.

I was pretty 50/50 with my predictions, which admittedly were based on very little hard fact.

The first day gave us wins for AAA (friends of the U'K), Dead Terrorists (Ahmed FTW!), Electus Matari (Minmatar FTW!) and others.

The U'K vs. Otherworld Empire Productions worried me right up until the last few seconds. I know who was involved on our team and who came up with those setups, but until everything was said and done I couldn't figure out the reasons. It was really risky and in the end we gave up quite a few points, but we beat some tourney favorites and proves you don't need skillpoints to be be effective in this format. Big congrats to my brothers and sisters in the U'K.!

The Federal Defense Union (Gallente FW team) did a really good job beating Capital Punishment, and the State Protectorate (Caldari FW team) won as well. The Tribal Liberation Force (Minmatar FW team) and 24th Imperial Crusade (Amarr FW team) didn't fair as well. All in all I was a little disappointed that they didn't fly 100% race-specific fleets. One could argue it's was for tactical concerns, but IMHO there's a matter of pride.

As per a great commentary slip-up, Exquisite Malevolence should change their name to Exquevolence.

The best fight of the day was R.U.R. vs. Celestial Imperative.CI fielded an expensive T2 lineup and R.U.R. went all T1 ships. Everyone called an early victory for CI but once the fight began all the commentators were dumb-struck as R.U.R. ripped CI apart swiftly. A great match and one for the books.

On day 2, Obviously I was pulling for the Bastards, who managed a victory, and Star Fraction (being RPers), who's win was not shocking at all. Molotov's loss was a little bit of a surprise, as was Agony's loss to the Beachboys. I'm glad the Goons lost to Ev0ke. I was hoping the Privateers would lose, as it was their gatecamp that cost be my Hyboria, but The Honda Accord really had no chance.

I learned a few things from it all. HACs and Command ships are really cool. Missiles are not useless if you use them right. The bane of drones is a smartbomb, which I thought had no real use. Mostly, you really don't need too many skillpoints to play a part in a fleet like that.

I also got a good overview of high-efficiency use of Caldari and Gallente ships, which were very much on display. Ishtars and Drakes and Kitsunes, oh my! Looking forward to being able to fly them all by the end of the year.

I also learned the true value of a good FC. Not only is it important in a ship-choice/setup/training capacity, but having the ability to analyze a situation instantly, create a solution and effectively command your fleet in order to execute it is a critical skill that during the matches it became painfully obvious that some teams had it and some did not. I wonder if EVE University has classes on Fleet Command...

Still waiting for the 2nd weekend matches to be announced. Apparently there were issues with point recordings. It'll probably be up later today. Next week I'll comment on the 2nd qualifiers and post my predictions for the finals. Amazingly, the finals will have a live video feed!

I got no problem clearing my schedule for the next 2 weekends to catch the rest of the tourney. I did a lot of mining in during the whole thing, so I was being productive as well.

I'm still new to the tourney scene, so calling a winner is difficult, but obviously I'm pulling for the U'K to take it all.

o7

My life in EVE - Part 20.

Me? Mine? *shrugs*

Since there's very little I can do without certain skills that I'm working on currently, I've got little reason to log in. I could use my JC and join my brothers in nullsec, but that would seriously slow down my much-needed training. If I were on for a weekend, it would be a different story. Instead, I've been doing some writing, some reading (trying to read all the chronicles) and helping the wife get her space mojo.

She worked late last night, and I was looking for something mindless to do between projects, so I decided to log on to her account and mine for her. Dense Veldspar and Scordite gets mined pretty quickly and it's the most profitable in the system (which she doesn't want to leave yet). A little skill management on the side and she seemed pleased when she got home.

She saw a Hulk in action. I think I saw her drool a little.

We'll be at the passport office for quite a while later today, so I'm going to get her to read some guides I found on mining. I'm reading up as well so I can help her out whenever she needs me to. She's been great in training my skills when I'm not home, so keeping up with her industrial needs is the very least I can do.

Reason for getting passports? We're going to the New York Comic-Con! The wife and I weren't supposed to have a vacation this year, but since Barry is driving it's actually affordable for us to go. Barry knows some chefs in town and loves it there, so he's gonna show us around. Kurtis may come as well, as he has family there and could really use a vacation himself. I'll blog and tweet from the NYCC whenever I can find a connection.

I want to get a lot of EVE-related writing done this weekend. I have some good ideas in my head and I need them digital before porn or something pushes them out. Hopefully I'll find time to log in as well.

o7

Prano's Journey #3: Nemesis

Kariam Zol watched unmoved as a man was tortured a few metres away.

The dungeon under the castle in which they were located was ancient tens of thousands of years ago, and it was a testament to Amarr skill that it still stood.

Kariam was a paladin on special detachment from House Sarum. An order from the empress herself created a small "wetworks" organization called Faith. Made up of a small handful of the best Paladins from all noble houses, they operated under a mandate of seeking out and destroying those individuals who posed unique threats to Amarr. The answered only to the empress herself, and officially did not exist.

Kariam had been hunting this man, who by many accounts did not exist himself, for months. Now this shadow of the same man was strapped to a chair, naked and bleeding from a growing number of wounds. Here was a man well-versed in the arts of subterfuge and intrigue, yet in the end Kariam's devotion and faith had seem him the victor.

Torture as a means of interrogation was something Kariam found fascinating on a purely intellectual level. The balances of pain, hope and coercion was a delicate ballet between the torturer and subject. Too little and to don't get anything, while too much and the information you get will be tainted. Kariam watched as the man was constantly pressured and questioned for several days. Kariam did not sleep during this, and he took intricate mental notes for future reference.

The man was nearly dead, and even though he was trained to resist torture by the Elders, Kariam's aid was just too skilled. Much that the man revealed was already known to Kariam. The Minmatar went by the name "Eyes", and it was doubtful that he had any real identity. He was a capsuleer, but his implants had been disabled before the torture began so that death would be permanent. Eyes worked for the Minmatar Elders (seven horrible apparitions akin to demons in the eyes of the Amarr), but knew little about their actual operations. Kariam wasn't after anything specific, but this man had to know something of use. Unfortunately he would be dead in a few minutes.

Kariam ordered his agent to leave. Coercion would have little effect now. First removing his white gloves and tucking them neatly into his belt, Kariam unshackled his prey and stood him up on a pool of dried blood. Eyes could barely stay level, and death's grasp was slowly closing around his heart. Kariam placed his hands on Eyes' head and squeezed. Eyes began to scream and howl with pain that didn't seem entirely physical. Kariam's gaze drilled into Eyes, seeking his prey's last, dark secret.

After what seemed like eternity, Kariam suddenly let go, and Eyes fell to the ground, instantly devoid of life. The stoic paladin retrieved his gloves from his belt and left the dungeon, ascending the stone stairwell and exiting the hollow remains of the castle. This isle on Mehkios was virtually untouched by development and belonged to the empress herself as a natural retreat locale. The only artificial structure other than the castle was a landing pad. Kariam's shuttle was being checked by his agent, and Kariam would head to one of the system's station to procure a ship, crew supplies and information to start his next hunt.

Only one word escaped Eyes' mind at the moment of death. This word held connections to concepts such as hope and truth within his mind. It was this word that drove paladin Kariam Zol to the stars, and it escaped his lips as his shuttle took off.

"Prano".