tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24787772429396879422024-02-07T13:54:45.848+00:00The Mind of VothUnmentionable gibberings of my febrile and pullulating mindAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-1767677759612243352015-05-05T12:51:00.003+01:002015-05-05T12:52:51.825+01:00Promotions Abound<blockquote>
<i>"Soon they had enough derogatory information on Major Major to do whatever they wanted to with him. The only thing they could find to do with him, however, was take him into the army as a private and make him a Major four days later so that Congressmen with nothing else on their minds could go trotting back and forth through the streets of Washington, D.C., chanting, 'Who promoted Major Major? Who promoted Major Major?'</i><br />
<i>"Actually Major Major had been promoted by an I.B.M. machine with a sense of humor almost as keen as his father's." - Joseph Heller, Catch 22</i></blockquote>
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Jjonahjameson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Jjonahjameson.jpg" /></a>I've been readjusting my schedules lately, following a rash of promotions - hence the quiet on the blogging front. In approximate order of enthusiasm:<br />
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I joined <a href="http://theneocom.com/" target="_blank">the Neocom</a> as a <a href="http://theneocom.com/2015/03/14/community-spotlight-eyes-like-chrome/" target="_blank">writer</a>, but quickly got bumped up to editor, as Proto realised that I can spell and create html tags. Since the podcast and other aspects of the website keep him very busy, he was more than happy to offload the content management part of his job to me. This has actually been rather fun! I've been impersonating John Jonah Jameson in skype chat, messing with other people's syntax, twiddling intros and conclusions, and generally trying to make sure that the Neocom articles come out reasonably polished and readable without undue pain to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broca%27s_area" target="_blank">posterior inferior frontal gyrus</a>.<br />
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This has come with various odd extra jobs, including a <a href="http://theneocom.com/2015/04/07/episode-6-creepy-stalkers-drifter-sleepwalkers-and-heroes/" target="_blank">role in the podcast</a> itself (squee!) and most recently, a minicast slot. I've been toying with the idea of podcasting for years, but it's taken the Neocom to push me into getting my toes wet. I am having more fun with it than anyone should be allowed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure if this is actually a Lieutenant's hat.</td></tr>
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Secondly, CAIN leadership has promoted me from Midshipman (presumed corp thief) to Lieutenant Junior Grade (possible awoxer). After 18 months in the corporation this isn't an utterly deafening vote of confidence, but I'm not terrifically active in-game, so I shan't complain. I do now have access to the hangar with tech 2 equipment in it.<br />
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Finally, in real life, my half-employer (I also work elsewhere) gently encouraged me to apply for my boss's job. Again, this isn't wildly flattering, as I was about the eighth person to be asked, and to politely but firmly refuse; it's a sign of my relative inexperience that I seriously considered it for a few minutes. This would be a rather stressful nine-to-five job, coming with what on paper looks like a substantial pay raise, but when you work it out is actually a lower hourly rate. It would in fact have given me more time to play EVE with my EUTZ corpies, but it would have nipped my other EVE activities in the bud, and - here's the clincher - I'd hardly ever see Mrs Voth, who works evenings and weekends.<br />
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Life remains very good: I love my real life job, and I would have been miserable if I'd accepted the promotion at work. But EVE is where the exciting stuff is happening right now; so much so that I'm messing with my schedule, trying to get back to having time for this blog as well as all the exciting new squirrels I have to chase. Bring it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-64043827018079892272015-03-30T17:56:00.000+01:002015-05-05T12:53:49.865+01:00London #Minimeet the First<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"'Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears!'</i><br />
<i>(They were all of them fond of quotations:</i><br />
<i>So they drank to his health, and they gave him three cheers,</i><br />
<i>While he served out additional rations)."</i><br />
- Lewis Carroll<br />
<br />
So, #MiniMeet happened on Saturday, <a href="https://twitter.com/CyrillianVoth/status/581928989222109184" target="_blank">fun was had</a>, and <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5618369#post5618369" target="_blank">photos were requested</a>. Yes, that's me on the right. Before you ask, it's my "taking a group selfie for CCP Guard" face.<br />
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Acuta Hawkwood (left) assumes the role of paterfamilias, reassuring me that I am not the oldest person present, and Aelisha accepts the prize for Person Least Physically Resembling Their Avatar with buckets of self-deprecating charm.<br />
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MantelGlobalIndustries is apparently legendary for his outstandingly posh English accent, and something of a heart-throb. There can be no doubt that he wears his aviators well.<br />
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Jakemiester, above, demonstrates a Blops hotdrop for the edification of the gentlemen from the Achura-Waschi Exchange. Zanzibar Heroshima (right) isn't alarmed - his main flies with PYRE, who are apparently a bunch of PvP badasses. Apparently.<br />
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Jerry Aquinas and Amrithis vied to out-handsome one another. A close-run thing.<br />
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Fenris Hakaari (left) won the prize for Person Most Physically Resembling Their Avatar, though the shades were sadly absent. Kaldo Dressen distinguished himself by being the only attendee currently flying with an NPC corporation.<br />
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Having established Kaldo's enthusiasm for exploration and lack of interest in PvP, I explained the concept of NPHI fleets, and encouraged him to contact Signal Cartel.<br />
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There was much earnest discussion of internet spaceships, consumption of intoxicating beverages, and merry revelry; it has been years since I have had this much fun in the company of so many hairy men. Thank you all for smelling so nice! Captured here is roughly how we felt by the end of the evening: somewhat blurry, but having fun.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-35647701594683025512015-03-24T00:29:00.000+00:002015-05-05T12:53:12.203+01:00Fozziesov: a defenceAt last, the <a href="https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/politics-by-other-means/" target="_blank">redesign of nullsec Sovereignty</a> is on the table - and it's a doozie. I really like the proposals - really, I do, ok? This is a tear-free zone. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't have suggestions.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>In case you live under a rock</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Please skip this if you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I really recommend reading <a href="https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/politics-by-other-means/" target="_blank">the dev blog</a>. I'll wait.</i><br />
<br />
Territorial Control Units (TCUs), Infrastructure Hubs (iHubs) and Outposts will be uncoupled for the first time. TCUs will provide the current 25% saving on starbase fuel costs, a name on the map, and nothing else. iHubs, an optional improvement, will provide the current upgrades such as the ability to build supercapitals, install a jump bridge or cyno jammer, or increase the number of anomalies or signatures in the system - as at present. Outposts - effectively player-owned stations, but limited to one per system - remain unchanged. In theory, different alliances can control the TCU, iHub and Outpost in the same system.<br />
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Each of these three sov structures will now be invulnerable to weapons; instead, they can be attacked during the owner's "prime time" (a window set by the alliance) using an Entosis Link. This targeted high-slot module can be fitted to any ship, has up to 250km range, and if uncontested, can reinforce a structure in 10-40 minutes, depending on the occupancy indices of the system. Defence bonuses will initially be based on the current indices for ratting, mining, and duration of ownership, but these are slated for further iteration.<br />
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Once activated, the Entosis link cannot be deactivated until its cycle is complete (2 mins minimum). During the cycle, the ship operating the link cannot warp, jump, dock, or receive any form of outside assistance. This makes the Entosis ship extremely vulnerable unless it is defended; pure kiting strategies have been officially deprecated and are intended to be sub-optimal. Capitals will have severe penalties to using Entosis links.<br />
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Capture begins after the end of the first full Entosis cycle; at this point, members of the defending alliance are notified. Only one ship is required to operate an Entosis link; additional modules or ships offer no further benefit. If the defenders also activate an Entosis link on the same structure, no capture progress is made, and if the attackers are driven off, the defenders can restore the structure to its "untouched" state in minutes. The intended effect is that attackers or defenders can win an Entosis contest only if they control the whole grid surrounding the target for an extended period.<br />
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If a Sov structure is successfully attacked, it exits reinforcement at a random point during the defender's primetime two days later. At this point, five Command Nodes (nodes) will spawn randomly throughout the constellation; each can be attacked using the same Entosis mechanic, which takes 10-40 mins for attackers, but always 10 mins for defenders. Unlike the initial attack on a structure, there is no notification relating to nodes or their capture; they are visible as beacons, but only to pilots in space in that system. If the nodes are uncontested, capturing ten is enough to win the battle, saving or destroying the target structure. If opponents contest the capture, there is a tug-of-war. Whenever a node is captured, another one spawns, and eventually more nodes will spawn, making it increasingly easy for the faster or more numerous side to break a stalemate.<br />
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If the capture event is won, TCUs and iHubs are destroyed; in the latter case, this can be moderately expensive for the defender. Outposts first go into a two-day "freeport" mode before a second free-for-all capture event determines the new owner; this is a temporary system, as the <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/back-into-the-structure/" target="_blank">new structures</a> coming this year will be destructible.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Here's why it's good:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Goodbye to BoredomShield(tm)</b>: "the art of weaponising [an] opponent's boredom" will no longer be a key strategy in Sov warfare. Taking and defending Sovereignty will always either be fairly quick and easy, or involve actual fighting.<br />
<br />
<b>Unused space will be vulnerable</b>: under the current indices, long-term ownership will give defenders only a small advantage; ratting and mining will be needed to bolster the defence.<br />
<br />
<b>Defenders will have to defend</b>: "denying fights" will no longer be a dominant defence against roaming gangs; during prime time, defenders can now be forced to undock and fight. Absent "defenders" will have very little protection; they will need to show up and fight for their space, or lose it. The defending alliance will need to show up in person; third parties can help them fight attackers, but only the defenders can use Entosis Links to prevent reinforcement or capture Command Nodes. This doesn't spell the end of renting, but the writing is on the wall.<br />
<br />
<b>Defenders will have some advantages</b>: the lengthened capture times for attackers, defenders' assets in the systems under attack, and fast reship times should all lend significant advantages for defence. This is a key design goal:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"It's very important that active and prepared alliances be provided with the tools they need to defend their homes." - CCP Fozzie</i></blockquote>
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<b>Some known issues</b><br />
<br />
<b>Prime-time Peeves</b>: There has been much discussion about how this should work; clearly, defenders should have some control over when they can be forced to fight, if smaller alliances are to be able to hold space - but there are worries that some players, especially in AUTZ, will be effectively left out of the action.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Trollceptor</b>: There have been worries that an interceptor fit for speed and locking range might be able to operate an Entosis link while remaining effectively untouchable. Although it would be easy for a defender to activate their own Entosis link and prevent capture, this would force one character to remain in space doing nothing else until the Trollceptor pilot leaves the system. There are a number of straightforward solutions to this concern, which has <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5572713#post5572713" target="_blank">been answered</a> in principle fairly clearly:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"We do not intend to allow pure evasion tactics to become optimal." - CCP Fozzie</i></blockquote>
<b>Alliance-hopping defenders</b>: renters could be protected if landlords can join their alliance temporarily to help defend their space; this could also allow a range of silly timer games. Anthar Thebess has already <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5545397#post5545397" target="_blank">raised and proposed a solution</a> to this concern: a two-week delay before new alliance members can use Entosis in defence.<br />
<br />
<div>
<b>Skin in the game</b>: attackers can threaten sov without putting any meaningful resources on the line. This was <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5545795#post5545795" target="_blank">raised</a> by Gevlon Goblin: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"...if the "attack" succeeds, the defender loses his home. If the "attack" fails, the attacker loses a T1 cruiser... This can be fixed by increasing the price of the Entosis link enough to make Entosis kill reports a prized goal of PvP-ers."</i></blockquote>
<div>
Another popular suggestion for this has been to require at least a Battlecruiser to make an initial Entosis attack, but Fozzie has <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5565180#post5565180" target="_blank">firmly scotched</a> this notion:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Using the Entosis Link mechanics to artificially skew the meta in that way is not something we are interested in doing."</i></blockquote>
Endie van Posts <a href="http://www.endie.net/wordpress/2015/03/crazy-little-thing-called-sov/" target="_blank">raised</a> a related concern:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"A system which allows non-sov-dwellers to run riot in sov null, but which does not compensate the sovholding line members sufficiently, will see depopulation, after which nobody gets fights."</i></blockquote>
He was talking about income for residents, but I'm more inclined towards Gevlon's view: defending Sov should entail good, mostly-meaningful fights, or failing that, satisfying killmails with lots of zeroes on. This is a powerful argument against the 20m.<span style="font-size: x-small;">ISK</span> Entosis Link fitted to a 20m.<span style="font-size: x-small;">ISK</span> interceptor; of course I should be able and willing to hunt them down, but why should I have to drop whatever I'm doing to deal with such a trivial threat, when the owner can send hundreds of these into my space, one at a time, 4 hrs a day, every day, with no intention of actually contesting sovereignty? If the module cost, say, ten times as much, even wealthy alliances wouldn't treat them as utterly disposable - and I'd be less irritated at having to swat them away. I wouldn't mind undocking to blap a HAC, and I'd be delighted to help take down a pirate battleship; if Entosis killmails were that expensive, defending space would feel like an opportunity, not a chore.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Blob Problem</b><br />
<br />
...Bloblem? So, this is where I buried the lead: blobbing is by far the biggest problem with this system. EVE Hermit <a href="https://evehermit.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/command-nodes/" target="_blank">expressed it</a> best:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"...current super alliances... could just flood every system in a constellation with 100+ pilots and stomp all over small to medium sized groups."</i></blockquote>
This is my main concern at this point. To quote Endie once again:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"I do worry that this favours people like us (Goonswarm) rather heavily... I think that a further advantage explicitly rewarding the smaller defender would be good."</i></blockquote>
I'm not terribly worried for Providence; we can muster a couple of hundred pilots, especially during our (EU) primetime, and if "denying fights" ceases to be a defence, living in Providence will become more fun, and more attractive. But really, Provibloc is already a bit of a blob; this system is supposed to make sovereignty an option for the <i>little </i>guy. At present, the only reliable defences for smaller sov holders are more-powerful allies, BoredomShield(tm), and the invulnerability of Outposts; the latter two of these are on their way out, leaving genuinely independent sov-holders practically defenceless against much-larger groups. What if an alliance with just a couple of hundred members wanted to independently take a constellation in a quiet corner of nullsec for themselves? Isn't that one of the aims of this system, to encourage the Balkanisation of sov nullsec?<br />
<br />
There is a ready and popular answer to this: the big boys might bring overwhelming force for a day, a week, or even a month, but they won't bring hundreds of pilots indefinitely unless they actually decide to live in the space they've taken. Even a small alliance with the sort of irrational tenacity displayed by Provibloc would eventually be able to take their space back - or more likely, in the new dispensation, make a fresh start elsewhere.<br />
<br />
This argument misses the point. Already under the present system, but even more with the <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/back-into-the-structure/" target="_blank">new structures unveiled during fanfest</a>, investment is key to making use of sov space. But why would any small and independent group make what, for them, is a large investment, when they have no realistic expectation of defending it against, say, PL, if they should happen to swing by? Both Endie and Sion have expressed this repeatedly and eloquently: if you want to break up the blue doughnut, there's no point making it harder to form gargantuan coalitions; you have to remove the incentives for doing so. If the only remaining way to keep assets safe is to blob up, sov null will only become more homogeneous.<br />
<br />
What should be the minimum criteria for holding space and being able to invest in it? I believe the best approach, the only viable approach for a "Balkanised" sov map, is to <b>ensure that even small groups can actually defend their space</b> - not by taking it back when assailants get bored and move on, but <b>by preventing even much larger attackers from taking their home systems in the first place</b>.<br />
<br />
Of course, n+1 is always an advantage, and to misquote Malcanis' law, any system that benefits small groups will tend to offer a greater benefit to larger groups. But this sort of handwaving is not an excuse for shrugging shoulders and walking away. <b>Make it possible for tenacious, organised, adequately-resourced and adequately numerous groups to defend and hold their home against <i>any </i>attacker</b>, <b><i>no matter how numerous,</i></b> without making the large blocs unassailable.<br />
<br />
Yes, I have a suggestion. That will be part II.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-29259122631196876142015-03-17T11:36:00.002+00:002015-05-05T12:53:29.950+01:00Eyes Like Chrome: the full interview<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all artwork by Eyes Like Chrome</td></tr>
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I've been a bit quiet here for the last week, mainly because of <a href="http://theneocom.com/2015/03/14/community-spotlight-eyes-like-chrome/" target="_blank">this</a>. Suddenly I work in EVE media! The bar doesn't appear to be stratospherically high... Still, I'm quite happy with the interview; <a href="http://twitch.tv/eyeslikechrome/profile/past_broadcasts" target="_blank">Eyes Like Chrome</a> is a fascinating individual, bags of fun to talk to, and gave me any number of gems to pick out for the write-up.<br />
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From a 45-minute conversation, I had to cut quite a lot to get it down to a reasonable length. As a first pass, I typed up large chunks of what I thought was interesting from the conversation, and both Proto and Eyes Like Chrome have given me permission to publish the whole thing here. Read on for stories about twitch marathons, a stream stalker, furry porn, sibling rivalry, grand ambitions, streaming the newbie experience, and more...<br />
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<i>Proto asked me to mention that he loves your work. He said, "you've got to check out her work, it's amazing", and I looked, and I was like, wow, that's really cool.</i><br />
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Thank you - I kind of think it's shit!<br />
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<i>I don't know anything about art, I just know what I like.</i><br />
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That's how it is though, people that don't do a lot of it regularly, they don't catch the mistakes you do, they don't see whether or not things need to be fixed.<br />
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<i>What's this whole deal with streaming, then?</i><br />
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It is very entertaining to watch people do stuff. I actually prefer the creative streams rather than the video gaming streams for that reason, but it's really funny to watch other people get angry and frustrated at the games!<br />
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<i>Some of those streams are, like, twelve hours long!</i><br />
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Those are actually short streams. My legitimate commission streams last anywhere from six to... I think the longest one I did was close to 28 hours, non-stop. That's when I'm on a deadline and there's a reason for me rushing to finish the piece. None of the stuff I've done on twitch has been even remotely close to that - I tend to take my time on twitch, since I'm working with stuff I'm not familiar with.<br />
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<i>Do any of your viewers stay with you for seven or twelve hours of streaming?</i><br />
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Yes, there are close to ten of them that never leave my streams, ever; there are people that will just open them up and leave them on a computer screen and wait for me to show up, and they're there the entire time, they never leave.<br />
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<i>And, are they like, doing other things?</i><br />
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I'm assuming they do! There's one person that doesn't, because she's been my moderator from the beginning, she kind of got me started with the whole, "yeah, you should do this, and you should constantly stream it, because I like to watch you do art." They're actually really good to have in the stream, because they're able to help keep trolls away. They're very good about recognising when people are trying to scam me, they're very protective; I've become good friends with most of them, so it's good to have them around.<br />
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<i>Do you get any trolling?</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Chromia Eyes"</td></tr>
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I haven't had any of that on twitch yet, but I did have something on another streaming site that is kind of newer, and I think that's why the guy slipped through the cracks, and basically has been harassing me for the past couple of months - and he's very lewd with his harrassment. It basically got to the point that, because the streaming site refused to try and IP ban the guy and watch the stream and make sure he wasn't coming in there - because the mods couldn't do anything - we could ban him and ban him, and he was one of those guys who had bots that would recreate his account, and they couldn't stop him from doing it. So it got to the point where I had to go to another streaming site., it was that bad. I mean, I personally was amused by it, because he was pretty creative about the way he was trying to troll me, but I just didn't want him making my audience uncomfortable, which was what was happening. It's really hard to get a rise out of me. I'm the kind of person that, if I'm getting trolled, I will troll the person trolling me intentionally just to make them upset. But I didn't want him chasing away customers and people that had come just to chill out in the stream and watch art. It did suck, because it was a really nice art site; there were a lot of really amazing artists on there that I was really looking forward to doing art with, because you could actually multi-stream and draw alongside another artist... but I've found a new home that I like a lot better, it's a lot more secure, the mods actually give a crap. That's tigerdial, they're still in beta.<br />
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<i>And that's where you do all the kinky furry stuff.</i><br />
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Whenever people find out that I do furry pornography on the side as an art profession, they get a little bit weirded out by it, because obviously, it's furry porn, I get that. What they don't seem to understand is, the furry community is based entirely upon artwork, it has always been based upon artwork, about making an artistic, animalistic version of themselves - and that's why it's really easy as an artist to get commissions that way, because if you draw that kind of thing, you're going to have repeat customers for the rest of eternity, because they always want more artwork of their creations. You just have to be open-minded, and think: ok, this may be some kind of crazy tentacle porn, but I can do artistic things with this and learn while I'm doing it, and not think about what I'm actually drawing.<br />
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<i>So it's not really your thing, so much as a great way of getting experience and commissions?</i><br />
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That is true, I don't consider myself a furry, I have tons of friends that are, and I have been to conventions around them, and I love the furry community - they're very open-minded, they're very fun to be around, they're probably the most welcoming and open community I've ever met. I enjoy drawing the anthropomorphic stuff, specifically transformation scenes, I love doing that kind of stuff, because werewolf scenes were my big thing growing up, but it's not something that "gets my rocks off", no. I'm much more vanilla than that. (laughs) It's kind of how I got started with the commissions; the first three people that commissioned me were furries, and that's how I began to get good at what I was doing. Without them I would be nowhere near the art level I am.<br />
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<i>Why did you choose the name "Eyes Like Chrome"?</i><br />
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Everything I have done up to this point has been practice. All of the commissions, everything I have done, has been for the sake of a comic that I have been writing for several years now, that I am desperate to get published - and the main character is a guy who has chrome eyes. It also comes from the fact that I am obsessed with drawing eyes - it is the thing that I am the best at, and I will spend hours just colouring eyes., if given the chance. I try to use really uncommon colours when I do shading and stuff like that, and I think it makes really eye-tricking effects... so that's my goal when I go into it, if I can make each set look differently, and make it go, oh, this is really cool-looking, I don't know what those colours are, but that's really cool-looking!<br />
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I don't even know if I have much of a style, because it varies from piece to piece, and it all just depends on the subject matter. Honestly, the chibi thing, I am not exclusively a chibi artist - chibi is the term for the small, cutesy, large-headed characters... originally I had done it on twitch because I like to draw, I want an excuse to do some art-based streams on twitch, I'll throw out some little thing for people to do if they are interested, because my big brother Fin had mentioned, people are really into EVE, they love having stuff about their characters - why not? So, then it turned into a big thing, so now I'm pretty sure that people have the misconception that they have to get a chibi - they don't. I will happily draw actual people; I do realism, I do all kinds of different styles, I'm not limited to one thing.<br />
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<i>You spend a lot of time doing these.</i><br />
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The reason I spend so much time on them is because, one, I'm OCD, and I'm working with a lot of subject matter I'm not familiar with, I'm still new to EVE, so I don't know a lot of the ships and stuff yet, so I tend to spend a lot of time trying to make sure that I get the ships right. I'm not going to be 100% accurate in a limited time frame, but I want them to be recognisable; I don't want people to think, oh, it doesn't look like that, the nose does this, not that. And people that fly these ships all the time, they're going to know, they're going to notice, because that's their favourite ship.<br />
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<i>It can't be a good hourly rate...</i><br />
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If you're going to be a freelance artist, especially one that's not well-known, doing your artwork by the hour is impossible, because people will not pay that. Most well-paid artists make anywhere from ten to twelve bucks an hour starting out, whenever they're actually well-known, and even they spend anywhere from eight to twelve hours. The big reason why my streams also seem to take a little bit longer is because I am working with an injured arm - I have actually torn the ligaments in my drawing hand, so I tend to go a little bit slower. My usual turnout rate for commissions was one to two a day, and it was anywhere from four to six hours a piece, but I had to cut that back a little bit, but hopefully that will be fixed soon.<br />
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<i>You said earlier that you started to stream because there was a fan who said they loved to watch you work, but is there also something that appeals to you about having people watching you work?</i><br />
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I've noticed that I tend to draw better when I have an audience. I guess it's something I picked up in college, because I'd always have this herd of people around me watching me draw anyway. When I have people watching me draw, I have to not be lazy on things, I have to do them right the first time, I can't screw around, I can't cheat. But also, a lot of the people that watch the stream are artists themselves. Whether they're better than me or not, they're learning from things that I do, just as I learn from watching other art streams, and having them in the stream helps, because they can say hey, why don't you try this, it's easier to do it this way, or what about this hotkey; they have suggestions I wouldn't think of, and that's useful for an artist, because I think, oh, my brain doesn't work that way, that's excellent, I like it!<br />
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<i>Is there anything about your style that is your style, rather than just the way you're doing that specific piece?</i><br />
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When I first started drawing, I was doing pixels, and mechanical things, like robots and spaceships and stuff. That's why, this EVE thing, I'm really stoked about doing it, because that's the thing that I love to draw, but it kind of changed into this anime, comic book style because that was the thing that all the people that wanted art from me are into. I guess the only thing that's signature of mine would probably be the way I draw eyes. Other than that, it changes, a lot, and I think it mostly just changes due to the subject matter. When I get into my comic book stuff, it tends to be more movement-based, where things will be more skewed, and their features will be more exaggerated. I try to change it up, because I get bored very easily if I do the same thing over and over again. I don't like to limit myself with a style.<br />
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<i>CCP's EVE art is very noir, dark ambience, kind of gothic, hyper-detailed, cyberpunk techno-fantasy... if I compare that sort of art style with the kind of pieces you've been doing for these EVE commissions, there's quite a contrast.</i><br />
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Yeah, a lot of them are happier! It's like, ok, I kind of want to cuddle that ship. I don't know why I do, but I mean, it just kind of depends, if people want a chibi commission, they want something that they're going to look at and be like "aww, it's my character, how cute! It's like a baby! I'm going to keep it on my desk!" If it's a serious piece, I'll draw it seriously, and gritty, and the dark stuff. I actually love doing that kind of thing, by the way! I don't do nearly enough of it - that's why I love drawing Minmatar ships, because they're so gritty. I'm open to drawing anything. By doing the EVE stuff I think I'm going to be giving myself the chance to branch out of that a little bit more.<br />
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I used to do nothing but pixels - I never drew anything using a pencil or a stylus or anything, I did pixel by pixel in MS Paint, and that's basically what I started with. And then I thought, you know what? I don't have a computer any more, so I guess I'll start drawing.<br />
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<i>To what extent was it that (pixel art & mechanical stuff) that made you want to do this? Or was it just your brother saying loads of people will pay you for commissions?</i><br />
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The whole EVE thing, I only recently got started in it. Fin is entirely responsible for all of that. I would never have touched EVE, I would never have bothered going into it, because it's pay-to-play - I tend to be really cheap! He and I live states away, and Fin's my best friend, he's literally the funnest person for me to be around - unlike other people, I don't have to stop being an asshole when I'm with Fin, he's just as much of one as I am. So it's easier to play games with him than with everybody else, because he can put up with my personality. I really wanted a way to play games with Fin again, because we're really far away, and he suggested EVE Online. I didn't know that he was a twitch-streaming partner and all that other stuff, so it was a bit of a surprise, I guess... I didn't realise you were a person watched by hundreds of people every time you stream... ok, cool, my brother's a celebrity. Odd.<br />
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So he kind of convinced me to try out EVE, and I did like it, I love space battles, I love anything involving spaceships and stuff like that, so I do enjoy it. It's kind of a handful to get used to, I'm still learning a lot, and I don't get to stream or play it nearly as much as I should, because I'm kind of swamped with commissions at the moment. I do love that genre of game, it was right up my alley, and within the first hour of me playing, he was like, "ok, you're gonna stream it." "Noo, I don't wanna stream it, they get to watch me fail and die, and the tutorial's going to murder me, and it's going to be terrible!"<br />
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<i>But that's fun!</i><br />
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Clearly it must have been, because a lot of people were watching me do this, and it was terrifying, because I already have issues with playing a game while people watch. Art is different, it's something familiar that I can do and have people watch me and not freak out over. But playing a video game I've never touched before - it's kind of nerve-wracking.<br />
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<i>What have you done in the game?</i><br />
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I've done a couple of fleets, which was fun, even though 90% of it was me trying to keep up, and I've done a few of the missions. I lost my first ship during Grand Theft Cruiser, because I didn't understand how to do the "go toward an object, run away from the object", so I died a horrible death, it was beautiful. This was Fin's group, he does this "teach people how to fly ships in a fleet" group, I think they're public fleets, but they're all just T1 frigates, and it's like "ok guys, come on, follow us, follow the leader, don't get left behind or you're going to die..."<br />
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<i>Are you in a corp?</i><br />
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At the moment I'm not in a corp, just because I don't play enough yet, but I'm probably going to be joining Fin's whenever I finally get enough time to do that. I'm thinking about designating a couple of days a week where I'm able to just play and relax, and not kill my wrist, but we'll see.<br />
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<i>You should totally stream that. I suspect that the devs often watch that kind of stream.</i><br />
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I was absolutely terrified when Fin told me exactly who these CCP people were, who were all flooding my chat and hanging around in the stream, and I was like, "oh god, now I have to watch what I say about this impossibly complicated game..." - because I tend to cuss a lot when I play video games, especially ones that I don't quite get, yet.<br />
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<i>They're EVE devs, they've heard everything.</i><br />
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They've probably said everything. Despite how nervewracking it was, especially when Rise popped into my stream, and I looked like shit... but anyway, despite that, I'm really glad that they do that kind of thing, because I've never heard of a gaming group that does that, I mean, I've played a lot of MMOs, I've played a lot of various games, including, unfortunately, LoL and all that other stuff - the devs seem to have this barrier between the players and themselves in those games. I don't see that with EVE, and that makes me very, very happy. I think that that's how all games should be. That's kind of the other reason why I think I'm sticking with EVE, because they seem to actually give a crap about their players.<br />
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<i>I remember the first time I tweeted to a dev, and they tweeted back to me, I was like, "oh my god, oh my god!"</i><br />
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"They know I exist!"<br />
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<i>Have you seen the devblog about Super Kerr-Induced Nanocoatings?</i><br />
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I expected them to do that; I was surprised they hadn't done it already.<br />
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<i>They were doing it on the basis that you had a skin, but when the ship was destroyed, the skin was gone; what they're now going to do is, you can buy a skin, and any time you fly that type of ship, it will look like that. So you don't lose it, it doesn't make the ship more expensive.</i><br />
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That's excellent - I like it!<br />
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<i>Do you look forward to drawing a wider variety of different skin tones on ships?</i><br />
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I love the idea of doing that, because I love colouring things, and doing ship models sounds like a lot of fun! A pikachu ship, let's do this! ... They could make bumper stickers - really funny, witty bumper stickers, like puns. I'd like that.<br />
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<i>How do you feel about pink spaceships?</i><br />
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It kind of seems like blasphemy, but I'll roll with it, if that's your thing.<br />
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<i>I've heard whispered rumours that the art department is uncomfortable with the idea of even having alliance logos on ships, because they don't want players with their silly cartoons defacing their beautiful artwork.</i><br />
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I get that, the ships are their babies, they spend hours and hours and hours coming up with the designs, and the colouring, and the details, and doing all this stuff, but at the same time, people love looking unique, they love having their own style in everything they do, that's just what makes them people. They don't like to blend in, they want their own personalised things, so... I think, if it were me, I'd be flattered that people like the ship enough that they want to make it their own.<br />
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<i>I love the way there's a story explaining how capsuleers are a bit crazy, and they kind of act like people playing a computer game.</i><br />
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Well, in that situation, wouldn't you be a little crazy? When you die, and then don't die?<br />
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<i>Right, and wouldn't you paint your spaceships? I mean, if they could, they would.</i><br />
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If it were me, I would have a little stamp, a tally of how many times I've blown up: "I am THIS crazy."<br />
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<i>If you could pick a ship for yourself in EVE, which ship would it be, and what colour would you choose for it?</i><br />
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Oh my goodness, that is a good question. I really, really like a lot of them. I love the design of the confessor, because it's beautiful, and it looks like a sword, and I like it because it transforms... and I love how shiny the Amarr ships are, they're so shiny and Paladin-y. I love white and gold together, that's my favourite colour combination, but... oh man, that's a really hard one. As for colours, I tend to like darker colour schemes, and things that have a lot of chrome on them, obviously. Like an anti-Amarr... it'd be black and silver, instead of white and gold.<br />
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<i>So, a black-and-silver Confessor.</i><br />
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That would be badass.<br />
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<i>What are your dreams or ambitions in EVE? Is there one special thing you'd love to do?</i><br />
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I do have a special thing that I'd love to do in EVE, and Fin's already well aware of it. My life's ambition is to stream-snipe him. It's kind of a thing that twitch runs into, and it's why they have a delay on twitch in most cases, so that they don't have players watching the stream and going, "aha, he's over here, I'm gonna go kill him on his stream so that people can make fun of him." But Fin, for example, actually made a game of him, where if you snipe him in the middle of his stream he will actually give you money for doing so. But it's not the money, it's the fact that it's Fin, and I have to kill him if he's in the same game as me.<br />
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<i>How about art?</i><br />
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I would really like to get the comic I've been working on to be a thing. Originally it's going to be a web comic; I'm hoping to eventually print it if it does well enough. I'd love to get to the level where I can actually draw that and write that, and make it into something that people want to read and look at. That's my big goal.<br />
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<i>How close are you?</i><br />
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I've been storyboarding; all of it is written out, for the most part, so far there are three arcs to the storyline, so it's going to be quite long when it's done, so I'm kind of scared of it at the same time, because that's a lot of work to do by yourself, but I have one other person that writes it with me, my co-writer Jess, who's kind of helping me to get another view on the characters, because there are so many of them, there are so many characters in this thing, and it's a lot of work. I'm at the point where I'm actually lining and colouring the prologue now. It's something I've been working on, probably since high school, so quite a few years, about ten years. I'm hoping to have probably the prologue up, and at least the first chapter, by the end of summer, that's my goal.<br />
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<i>So now's the time to get your audience!</i><br />
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Hopefully this works! It is kind of space-y, and a little bit futuristic, it's very much not a happy story, so I hope that doesn't scare anybody away from it.<br />
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<i>EVE people will be totally into that.</i><br />
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It's very steampunk-y, and apocalyptic, and very "oh, you think you know the plot? No you don't..."<br />
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<i>I'll be reading it! I think a lot of EVE people will be as well, by the sound of it. How about your other ambitions in life?</i><br />
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I do want to write; I'm actually better at writing than I am at drawing, that's kind of my big thing. I do want to write a book, or two, or ten.<br />
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<i>Have you tried writing EVE fiction?</i><br />
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No, because I don't know enough about the lore yet, but I'm actually writing and drawing a new capsuleer's journey as a comic, it's going to be very minimally coloured, and it's probably going to be sporadic because I don't play that much, but it's going to go through my player character's journey. It's going to be very graphic-novelly in design. It's not even going to have a lot of text, it's going to be mostly based on trying to move the story through just images and panelling.<br />
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<i>We'll definitely want to see that! We love your work.</i><br />
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Don't make me cry on the interview!<br />
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<i>If you do, that would be awesome, and we'll put that on the podcast.</i><br />
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No!!<br />
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<i>That's the kind of thing we want to highlight, because that makes the game a richer, more meaningful experience for all of us.</i><br />
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Yes, that was something that Fin mentioned as well, he really wanted to see more of that, and I agree, I feel like, you want players to stick with it more, and to have more reason to love EVE, so make the player community richer, and they will do that.<br />
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It's got to be really good for me to pay to play, so the fact that I'm sticking with it shows you how much I like it. I think the big reason I have become hooked on it is because all the people I watch and play with are so unbelievably gung-ho about the game, and that kind of makes me want to be gung-ho about it. It isn't even a peer pressure thing, it's more of a "oh gee, that sounds like fun."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-8316342630272248812015-03-03T12:33:00.005+00:002015-03-03T17:01:49.091+00:00Time for a Remap pt.II: A Child, Awakened<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>Verwandelt ist Zarathustra, zum Kind ward Zarathustra, ein Erwachter ist Zarathustra: was willst du nun bei den Schlafenden? - Friedrich Nietzsche</i></span></blockquote><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">The newly cloned capsuleer faces a universe of opportunity. They have been transformed, remade, reborn by the cloning process, and enjoy new capabilities as yet untested and unknown. As time goes by, they will come to know and play to their natural strengths, and of course augment their talents by learning and honing new capsuleer skills.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">However, the human mind is ill-adapted to <a href="https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/The_Capsule_and_the_Clone" target="_blank">the Jovian technology of the hydrostatic capsule, and cloning also takes its toll</a>. Capsuleer skill training is unnatural and ultimately damaging to the mind itself; as they acquire skills no natural human can learn, the capsuleer's native talents are gradually blunted. Over time, they will increasingly rely on implants to sustain their abilities, while offsetting any loss of mental acuity with their increasingly perfect skills.<br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">This post is the second in a series; in <a href="http://themindofvoth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/time-for-remap.html" target="_blank">part one</a> I argued against attributes (and implants) affecting learning speed, and highlighted the appeal of attributes as a way of making a character feel distinctive in actual gameplay. </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">In this follow up, I propose a redesign of attributes in EVE.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Edit</b>: corrected the examples, where I confused Navigation with Evasive Maneuvering. I don't always derp, but when I do...</span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><b>Design principles</b></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><ul><li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Every attribute should provide meaningful bonuses that affect gameplay.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Every attribute should be useful and desirable for every type of activity; if there's an obvious attribute mapping for, say, industry, then industrial characters will use those attributes, and there are no interesting choices to make.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The attributes should be roughly equally useful - again, this is what makes the choices interesting. If one of the attributes is clearly superior for a particular profession, it ceases to be a meaningful choice.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">No attribute should be critical enough to affect the viability of fleet doctrines. If corporations start issuing mandatory "doctrine remaps" to their members, these choices become uninteresting for individual players. This tends to imply that attributes should not directly affect fitting.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">If power creep is a concern, the </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">maximum</i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> value for attribute bonuses can be set as equal to the current values, making this a nerf rather than a buff to current power levels.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Bonuses currently provided by skills can be transferred in part to attributes, making the skills proportionally slightly less valuable and allowing attributes to make up the difference.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><i>Attributes and implants should not increase the advantages enjoyed by veteran players over new players.</i></b></span></li>
</ul></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Making the last of these work with an attribute bonus system was bugging me for ages, which is why I didn't publish this follow-up sooner. But at last, I think I may have found a solution. Read on, my little ones, rub your hands together and cackle with glee, as we contemplate the wielding of the nerfbat...</span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><b>Attribute mappings, implants and decay</b></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Most players will prefer a "flat" mapping where all attributes are equal, but in accordance with their playstyle and preferences, they can vary each attribute by up to +/- 2 points. The sum of all attributes remains unchanged, so every +1 attribute increase is balanced by a -1 reduction elsewhere, as at present. Players will have the same opportunities to remap their attributes as they do now, but new players will be advised not to change their attributes at first.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Attributes are further modified by the attribute implants which already exist, and which remain unchanged in this system. The maximum value of an attribute after applying implant bonuses is +5; implants taking the value beyond +5 have no further effect. With no implants, the theoretical minimum value for an attribute is -2.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><div><br />
</div><div>A starting character is offered a flat mapping of +4 in all attributes, allowing the maximum +5 bonus in all areas with a full set of +1 implants. As the character learns skills, these attributes gradually decay, until at 40m skill points, the character needs +5 implants on a flat attribute mapping in order to receive the maximum bonus in all areas.</div><div><br />
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<tr><td>Total SP</td><td>Base attribute bonus</td><td>Implants needed for <br />
max. bonus (flat mapping)</td></tr>
<tr><td><5m</td><td>+4</td><td>+1</td></tr>
<tr><td>5m+</td><td>+3</td><td>+2</td></tr>
<tr><td>10m+</td><td>+2</td><td>+3</td></tr>
<tr><td>20m+</td><td>+1</td><td>+4</td></tr>
<tr><td>40m+</td><td>0</td><td>+5</td></tr>
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The effect of this is to give a "free" advantage to low-SP characters, which decays with increasing SP, requiring attribute implants in order to keep the maximum bonuses. Players who prefer the advantages of some attributes over others can remap accordingly, making it cheaper and easier to maximise their bonuses in these areas. High-end attribute implants become important only for high-SP characters, while less-skilled characters have no need of them. All characters will still require implants in order to receive the maximum bonuses in all areas, and many will choose to do so if the bonuses are sufficiently attractive.</div></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><b>Attribute effects</b></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Each attribute gives bonuses in multiple areas, nearly all of which correspond to an existing skill. The bonus is generally 2%, which is subtracted from the effect of the skill. For example, the 5% per level structure HP provided by the Mechanics skill becomes 3% per level, offset by a 2% per level bonus for the Charisma attribute. With the maximum +5 Charisma and Mechanics V, structure HP remains unchanged.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Intelligence: quick thinking, the ability to rapidly analyse and adapt to changing situations, and inventiveness in finding solutions to unpredictable problems. Intelligence affects targeting speed, ship agility, data analyser coherence, invention and research time, and escrow management.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Memory: not only the ability to remember, but also to swiftly and reliably recall information, which helps the capsuleer quickly apply technical data to maximise system performance, and reference their knowledge to apply solutions to previously-solved problems. Memory affects capacitor capacity and recharge rate, warp capacitor cost, relic analyser coherence, blueprint copy time, and the number of market orders.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Perception: includes pattern recognition, and the ability to spot the optimal configuration for ship systems, inventory or finances. Perception affects targeting range, ship speed, the capacity of haulers and the ore bays of mining ships, accuracy of scan results, industry job costs, and sales taxes.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Willpower: the determination, daring and ruthlessness required to push ship systems - and lesser humans - to their limits. Affects warp speed, rate of fire for all weapon systems, drone damage, mining yield, manufacturing time and broker fees.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Charisma: the charm required to win the loyalty and devotion of a ship's crew can also be effective in building a network and persuading distant subcontractors to cooperate. Charisma affects heat, structure HP and scan speed, because a motivated crew will take greater risks and exercise more ingenuity in the service of a charismatic pilot. Networking skills affecting job control ranges are also modified by Charisma, the "number of jumps" range provided by each level of skill is reduced by 1, and the difference transferred to Charisma. With skill level V and Charisma +5, order range remains unchanged.</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Effects in bold do not correspond to bonuses offered by an existing skill; all other bonuses can be introduced without power creep by reducing the bonuses provided by the skills indicated below.<br />
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<tr><td>Profession</td><td colspan="2">Int</td><td>Mem</td><td colspan="3">Per</td><td colspan="2">Wil</td><td>Cha</td></tr>
<tr><td>Combat</td><td rowspan="3">ship agility</td><td rowspan="2">targeting speed</td><td rowspan="3">cap capacity, cap recharge rate, warp cap cost</td><td rowspan="3">base speed & Speed boost</td><td rowspan="2">targeting range</td><td>-</td><td rowspan="4"><b>warp speed</b></td><td>rate of fire (1%) & drone damage</td><td rowspan="3">heat & structure HP</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mining</td><td>ore hold capacity of mining ships</td><td>yield of mining lasers and mining drones</td></tr>
<tr><td>Hauling</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>cargo capacity of haulers</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td>Exploration</td><td colspan="2">data analyser coherence</td><td>relic analyser coherence</td><td colspan="3">accuracy of scan results - <i>not </i>scan strength!</td><td>-</td><td>scan speed</td></tr>
<tr><td>Manufacturing & Invention</td><td colspan="2">invention & research time</td><td>copy time</td><td colspan="3"><b>job costs</b></td><td colspan="2">manufacturing time</td><td>job control ranges</td></tr>
<tr><td>Trade</td><td colspan="2">escrow</td><td>no.of orders</td><td colspan="3">sales taxes</td><td colspan="2">broker fees</td><td>order ranges</td></tr>
<tr><td>Skills affected</td><td colspan="2">Evasive Maneuvering, Signature Analysis, Hacking, Research, Metallurgy, Margin Trading</td><td>Capacitor Management, Capacitor Systems Operation, Warp Drive Operation, Archaeology, Science, Trade, Retail, Wholesale, Tycoon</td><td colspan="3">Navigation, Acceleration Control, various Spaceship Command skill bonuses, Astrometric Pinpointing, Industry, Accounting</td><td colspan="2">Rapid Firing, Rapid Launch, Drone Interfacing, Astrogeology, Ice Harvesting, Broker Relations</td><td>Thermodynamics, Mechanics, Astrometric Acquisition, Supply Chain Management & Scientific Networking, Daytrading, Marketing, Procurement, Visibility</td></tr>
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</b><b>Examples</b></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Bravely Bimblebud has 700k SP, bless him. He hasn't started training Evasive Maneuvering yet, but having followed the recommended flat attribute mapping to start out, his Int is +4, giving him a ship agility bonus of 8% (under the current system this would be zero). Less than a day's training will get him to Evasive Maneuvering III, providing a 17% agility bonus (still better than 15% under the current system). With a very cheap +1 implant and a couple of days' extra training, he can reach 22% (still better than 20% in the present system). 2 weeks' training for Evasive Maneuvering V would then bring him to the full 25% bonus, as at present.<br />
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Bluesie Donutfrog is a hauler, with 39m SP. She often makes risky runs through lowsec, so align time is key; with Evasive Maneuvering V and no implants, her agility bonus is only 17%. She needs +4 implants to gain the full 25% bonus; once she passes 40m SP, she will lose another attribute point, and need +5 implants for the same effect. At this point she decides that safety is more important than speed; she remaps attributes, dropping a point from Wil and putting it into Int, losing an additional 2% warp speed but keeping her maximum agility without the need for a +5 Int implant. She invests in a jump clone with a +5 Wil implant for piloting her freighter across high-sec, but she will still be 2% slower in warp than the maximum possible speed.<br />
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Legionary Plagueboy specialises in subcap PvP; he has well above 40m SP, so he needs several jump clones. Some have +5 implants of course, as attribute bonuses are quite valuable in combat, but he keeps clones with +4 implants for use in nullsec fleet battles, and a +3 clone for flying Dictors. His Supercarrier alt has a head full of +5 implants - a sound investment when piloting expensive hardware.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-48719799457200858852015-02-25T16:21:00.000+00:002015-02-26T11:39:41.997+00:00The Ballot of Voth<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"... The mistakes committed by ignorance, in a virtuous disposition, would never be of such fatal consequence to the public weal, as the practices of a man, whose inclinations led him to be corrupt, and who had great abilities to manage, to multiply, and defend his corruptions." - Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels</i></blockquote>
I actually intend to vote late-ish again this year; I like to save my ammo in case of new information, last-minute upsets or my own change of heart. But as voting opens today, here is where I stand for now.<br />
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<b>The Rules of Voth</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Ranking is hard, but making a list is easy; just apply the rules of Voth:</span></div>
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1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3ICRoe-QIw" target="_blank">Wheaton's Law</a>: don't be a dick. Don't vote for anyone who indulges the casual racism, sexism and homophobia that are sadly rife in large segments of our community.</div>
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2. Check for intelligence: Don't vote for anyone who plainly doesn't understand how EVE, the CSM or the voting process work. As a dreadful scrub, if <i>I</i> can tell that someone's ideas are silly, they have clearly disqualified themselves. "Features and ideas candidates" fall at this hurdle - and I speak as an enthusiast for features and ideas; that's simply not what the CSM is for. No-effort candidates also lose out here.</div>
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3. Judge on judgement: drama accomplishes nothing, and yelling at devs is a waste of their time and energy. Only vote for people who inspire you with confidence that they can express themselves calmly, clearly and cogently, without hyperbole or rancour.</div>
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4. Vote with your heart: having excluded anyone who fails these tests, vote for the people who care about what you care about, who want what you want, and who you look forward to hearing from and reading about for the next year. This is how I have ranked my ballot - and it's the hardest rule to apply.</div>
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5. Vote, dammit! Not voting, or a voting for only one candidate, adds proportional weight to the votes of the big blocs, especially the CFC.</div>
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Vote wisely. Voth has spoken.</div>
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<b>The Choice of Voth</b></div>
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Special thanks to the hosts of <a href="http://capstable.net/" target="_blank">Cap Stable</a> for their fantastic work interviewing and discussing so many of the candidates; the interviews were revealing, and have informed a lot of my choices. You are all heroes of the community! Someone give them a medal or something.</div>
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#1: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=388996" target="_blank">Corebloodbrothers</a> - should be an automatic #1 vote for anyone who lives in Providence, and is a good choice for anyone who wants small sov-holders to be actually represented, not just pontificated about. Core is not much of a self-publicist, but has <a href="http://themindofvoth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-vision-of-ccp-leeloo.html" target="_blank">amply deserved</a> the trust we placed in him last year, when he <a href="http://cdn1.eveonline.com/community/csm/CSM9.zip" target="_blank">came second</a> after Sion Kumitomo. He will have no trouble getting elected, so Provi voters should consider filling more of the slots on their ticket, if only with least-worst options.</div>
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#2: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=389222" target="_blank">Sugar Kyle</a> - as a lowsec candidate, she doesn't really represent me at all, but she's the ultimate communicator and generalist, a consummate politician in the very best sense, and cares enough about lore and roleplay for me to see in her a kindred spirit. I very nearly gave her my #1 slot, and may still do so if it seems less likely that she will be elected, but so far it looks like she is getting the top slot in any number of endorsements; of course, anyone living in lowsec should place her first without hesitation.</div>
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#3: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=387353" target="_blank">Steve Ronuken</a> - should actually be hired by CCP, but as long as he's happy to volunteer, let's keep electing him. There is nobody else on the ballot who can do what Steve has been doing, and his <a href="http://justforcrits.com/csmx-steve-ronuken/" target="_blank">collaboration with CCP FoxFour</a> has already accomplished great things for 3rd party development.</div>
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#4: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5441988" target="_blank">Ashterothi</a> - as a roleplayer and lore enthusiast, Ashterothi's platform and <a href="http://www.hydrostaticeve.com/" target="_blank">podcast</a> catapult him to the top of the newcomers on my ballot. His <a href="http://thelemicascension.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/new-new-player-experience.html" target="_blank">ideas for the new player experience</a> are more scripted and less sandboxy than I would like, but his heart's in the right place.</div>
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#5: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=398366" target="_blank">Chance Ravinne</a> - like many others, I was impressed by his <a href="http://capstable.net/2015/02/10/chance-ravine/" target="_blank">Cap Stable interview</a>. He knows his strengths, and could offer CCP a lot of helpful insights from a streaming and marketing perspective.</div>
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#6: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=392374" target="_blank">June Ting</a> - gets in fairly high on my ballot as a promising representative of small sov-holders; I'd place her higher on my list if there was no Corebloodbrothers to vote for, or if she was able to attend summits in person.</div>
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#7: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=396193" target="_blank">Jayne Fillon</a> - another candidate who doesn't really represent me, but who does great things for the community, and impressed me with his <a href="http://capstable.net/2015/01/24/jayne-fillon/" target="_blank">Cap Stable interview</a>.</div>
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#8: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=389598" target="_blank">Mike Azariah</a> - I like him, I like his platform, and as far as I know he's always been unfailingly classy, but sadly I think some of his friends reflect very badly on him. Mike would be far higher on my ballot if he was less of a regular guest on Podside - see rule 1.</div>
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#9: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5400988" target="_blank">Cagali Cagali</a> - had an extremely disappointing <a href="http://capstable.net/2015/01/24/cagali-cagali/" target="_blank">Cap Stable interview</a>; was he sleep-deprived, perhaps? If not, I'm left worrying about rule 2 - if that's how vague he is about his ideas, he won't be able to contribute very usefully. However, as a Brave frenemy I'll grant him the benefit of the doubt, and his beautiful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THSI8D70A3k" target="_blank">presentation at EVE Down Under</a> won me over somewhat.</div>
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#10: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=387759" target="_blank">Corbexx</a> - as a wormholer, Corbexx doesn't represent me at all, and I'm not wildly happy with his position on rule 1. Only Sugar Kyle's <a href="http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/2015/02/csmx-lists.html" target="_blank">heartfelt endorsement of Corbexx as her spirit animal</a> squeezes him onto the bottom of my ballot.</div>
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#11: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=398447" target="_blank">Bam Stroker</a> and #12: <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=390261" target="_blank">Manfred Sideous</a> - having seen what I've seen of PL's frat-boy mentality (even among its classier members), simply choosing to be a member is almost a violation of rule 1. However, these two might creep onto the bottom of my ballot, for what that's worth - Bam for his advocacy for player meet-ups, and Manfred for his <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=356024" target="_blank">switched-on ideas about Sov</a>.</div>
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<b>Notes on some noes</b></div>
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Jenshae Chiroptera - a Provibloc candidate who sadly fails on rule 2.</div>
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Xander Phoena - made it onto my ballot last year, but since then he has clearly and repeatedly broken Wheaton's Law. Never again.</div>
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Endie - <a href="http://capstable.net/2015/02/08/endie-von-posts/" target="_blank">talks the talk</a>, but he's still a Goon. I like his thoughts on Sov, but when the chips are down and devs are tabling their ideas for a bonfire of the Supercapitals, can we really trust him to argue against the interests of his bloc? He might have squeezed onto the bottom of my list, but as a highly-placed Goon candidate, he'll probably be elected long before my vote trickles down that far.</div>
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Migui X'hyrrn - I was seriously considering whether he might make it onto my ballot, but with <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568064884803563520" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568065145244667904" target="_blank">childishly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568067014352347136" target="_blank">vile</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568068975449534465" target="_blank">series</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568069225786572800" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MiguiEVE/status/568069717493211136" target="_blank">tweets</a> in defence of <a href="https://twitter.com/EVEMarcCallan/status/563715488879222784" target="_blank">TEST's anti-semitic 'jokes,'</a> he forfeited my vote and my respect. As my first direct experience of TEST's corporate culture, the experience reminded me vividly of Gamergate. This is not the kind of person we need representing our community - or even in it, frankly.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-28149447403615547072015-02-16T18:33:00.001+00:002015-02-17T00:00:27.563+00:00The Vision of CCP Leeloo<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin: 0 10px 0 10px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://image.eveonline.com/Character/93122356_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Picture of CCP Leeloo's avatar" border="0" height="200" src="https://image.eveonline.com/Character/93122356_1024.jpg" title="CCP Leeloo, visionary and badass." width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CCP Leeloo, visionary and badass.</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<i>"I was afeard of her face, though she fair were,</i><br />
<i>And saide, 'mercy Madame, what is this to meane?'"</i><br />
<i> - William's Vision of Piers Plowman</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">A paradigm shift is under way in EVE Online. CCP Seagull has been the <a href="http://hydrostaticpodcast.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/hp-17-we-render-universe-for-you.html" target="_blank">vanguard of change</a>, not only championing a bold <a href="http://nosygamer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/when-ccp-seagull-talks-people-listen.html" target="_blank">strategic vision</a> of how EVE should develop, but far more radically, transforming the development process, changing the way developers work and collaborate, with dramatic and far-reaching effects on every aspect of the game. Take the Council of Stellar Management, for example. Cap Stable </span><a href="http://capstable.net/2015/02/08/ccp-leeloo-and-ccp-falcon/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">interviewed</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> CCP Leeloo and CCP Falcon on the CSM recently, and true to </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ccp_leeloo/status/561927336841728001" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">recent form</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">, CCP Leeloo cheerfully dropped a number of bombshells.</span></div>
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<i>"[The CSM white paper] is one of the things we're about to drastically change."</i></blockquote>
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...<i>one</i> of the things?</div>
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<b>No Longer a Committee of Opinion-Havers</b></div>
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<i>"Since CCP Leeloo took over the council... it's gone kind of beyond just game design and game balance, and now, you know, the CSM is talking to the cinematics team, they're talking to marketing, they're talking to sales, so... it's turned into... an all-round sanity check on everything we do that relates to EVE."</i> - CCP Falcon</blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The usefulness of the CSM to CCP should be obvious; unlike any other form of player feedback, CSM members have signed a non-disclosure agreement, so devs can openly discuss their ideas without needing to worry about message control. For busy developers, this massively reduces the cognitive load and time demands of getting player feedback, compared with e.g. </span><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=376666" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">going to the forums</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. If, in addition, CSM members can be civil, constructive, and cogent, the signal-to-noise ratio should be much better. However, this has been a challenge under <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/from-2-expansions-to-10-releases-eve-onlines-new-release-model-explained/" target="_blank">the new release cycle</a>, for which the old communication tools (summits and CSM forum primarily) are ill-adapted. This is where Confluence comes in.</span></div>
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<i>"Before the recent changes we've made to our communication... CSM would get information about the features that are coming in the game, either through direct communication ... or at their sprint reviews every two weeks. ... As you can imagine, when you have a release every six or four or five weeks, it's not enough to have one meeting every two weeks for that. We, internally, have this big roadmap where we have all these features and little descriptions and stuff for each release, and CSM didn't have that... now they do. Now they can basically see up to three releases [ahead], and they can see which features are going in... including the visual effect changes, up to big features. We have a weekly review with the CSM... they tell me if there are any features they haven't talked about yet with the team... and I can find [someone to] brief the CSM, and maybe get some feedback from them." </i>- CCP Leeloo</blockquote>
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CSM X is going to have access to large portions of the internal wiki, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confluence_%28software%29" target="_blank">Confluence</a>. This will allow them to see what devs see of each other's work - to-do lists, draft ideas, proposals, progress reports - as they are completed. There is no way anyone with a full-time job can keep up with this volume of information; henceforth, CSM members are going to have to specialise.</div>
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<i>"If you've been elected by 40,000 Russian players to represent Russian client needs, that would be fair, if you interact more with [the] localisation team than some other CSM members who've, for example, been elected on their campaign of wormhole changes, they would interact more with actual game design teams. By actually changing the way that CSM communicates with us right now, <b>we are electing people to be individuals inside of this big institution... so we don't actually have to force people to interact with each other if they don't want to</b>, because that's understandable..." </i>- CCP Leeloo, emphasis mine.</blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">This points to a dramatic increase in the added value of each CSM member, and of each vote. No longer are we electing grandstanding space politicians in the hope that they can be assertive enough to win arguments, and that they'll have thick enough skin to withstand or ride out whatever space-drama may come their way; instead we can elect people for their expertise, their interests, and their alignment with our own concerns and priorities for the game. Now they will each be better able to focus, and give their individual, timely, specialist feedback far more directly and efficiently to developers.</span></div>
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Sion <a href="http://www.themittani.com/features/transparency-and-funkybacon" target="_blank">recently</a> <a href="http://www.themittani.com/news/csm-straight-dope" target="_blank">called</a> for CSM members to be free to comment on each other's work. I have no objection to this in the run-up to an election, but we can't rely on colleagues' reviews as our only source of information; with so much at stake, the resulting drama could make recent flare-ups look quaint by comparison, and reward political machinations and busywork over quietly constructive individual input. We need to hear CCP's estimation of our representatives' usefulness; they, after all, are far better placed to judge whether a CSM member is helping them take better decisions.</div>
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<b>Corebloodbrothers: a case in point</b></div>
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As a follow-up to her earlier, somewhat controversial tweet, Leeloo laid out what amounts to another new policy: CCP is no longer going to be coy about commenting on CSM members' participation, contributions, or usefulness.</div>
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<i>"Even after the past year I can give you a huge amount of examples of people who worked their asses off, you know, spending hours and hours and hours of their real life doing stuff for us and for the community."</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I instantly knew which two names she was going to mention. But the first name out of her mouth was the biggest surprise of the interview.</span></div>
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Corebloodbrothers, the Provibloc representative on CSM, has kept his promise to continue running his regular newbie-friendly EU timezone fleets, in which he is a paragon of calm, clarity and class, a truly likeable FC - and through which, he stays in very close contact with his constituency. His enthusiasm and commitment to the NRDS life are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLezJEMmh70" target="_blank">impressive</a>, but he keeps a very low profile on EVE media, so he isn't much of an evangelist for the Gospel of Providence. I was pleased with a couple of small but important changes that were clearly to his credit, and confident that in the still-secret Sovereignty discussions he was in my corner as the CSM's only actual representative of small sov-holders (Sion and Endie's <a href="http://mp3.legacyofacapsuleer.com/mp3/LOAC_ep_08.mp3" target="_blank">pious</a> <a href="http://capstable.net/2015/02/08/endie-von-posts/" target="_blank">protestations</a> notwithstanding). But until last month's winter summit, I had not heard any other CSM member make a single positive comment on his work. This has hitherto constituted <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5270643#post5270643" target="_blank">a damning indictment</a> of any CSM colleague, as they are sternly (and rightly) warned off actual public sniping during the term. I was growing concerned that his commitments to work, family and Provibloc were preventing him from pulling his weight in his other-other-other job. I was wondering who might knock him off my no.1 voting slot, or even whether he would appear on my ballot at all.</div>
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Then, <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5438201#post5438201" target="_blank">up pops Sion Kumitomo</a> in Core's CSM X campaign thread.</div>
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<i>"He's dedicated, articulate, and passionate, and he represents his constituency well... Core deserves to be back for CSM X."</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">This was a pleasant surprise, and a feather in Core's cap. Goon as he is, I have a lot of respect for Sion's intellect and dedication, and see no reason why he would lie about this. But why had nobody had anything good to say about Core previously? Then, along comes Leeloo:</span></div>
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<i>"I'm gonna even bring a few names up, I mean, Corebloodbrothers, he did an insane amount of work, and I don't even know where he takes the time because he has like a family, and a super-important job and stuff like that."</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Holy mackerel - first on the list, followed by Corbexx and, er, Sugar Kyle?? I can think of no higher praise. I am certain that CCP Leeloo knew exactly how unexpected this was; I was left bemused as to what she'd observed that the rest of the CSM hadn't. But Sion made the situation </span><a href="http://www.themittani.com/news/csm-straight-dope?page=0%2C4" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">a lot clearer</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">:</span></div>
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<i>"I thought he was mostly out of game. He wasn't at meetings, didn't talk in channel much, and rarely posted. ... At this last summit, ... I discovered that he was unable to attend remote meetings due to work, and instead of dropping feedback in public areas, <b>he tended to contact CCP directly and privately</b>." </i>- Sion Kumitomo, emphasis mine.</blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I have absolutely no problem with this. So Core is better at working than at being seen to work - no news there, and far better this than vice-versa. Why should his feedback on devs' ideas be discussed in committee? If CSM IX was </span><a href="http://www.ninveah.com/2015/02/what-hell-happened-to-csm-9.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">as fractious as it seems</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">, I don't blame him for choosing not to waste his energy on back-and-forth with disputatious colleagues. Give the devs your clear & well-reasoned opinion, and let them weigh it accordingly alongside</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">others. Remote discussion with some groups can be productive; with others it can be a pointlessly soul-sucking waste of energy, for a person who really does have other things to do with their time.</span></div>
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<i>"With [the] current tools that I'm trying to put together for [the] CSM, this is possible... they are often seen as a team, that's supposed to work together, and we saw that doesn't happen all the time(!)... we should just let people do what they've been elected to do." - </i>CCP Leeloo</blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">On which note: did I mention my admiration for </span><a href="http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/p/csm9_4.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">Sugar Kyle</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">? It just went </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO5S4vxi0o" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">up to eleven</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. We can't realistically expect every CSM member to be Sugar - that much hard work gathered in a single room would probably cause <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_%28thermodynamics%29" target="_blank">some kind of explosion</a> - but as a community, we are very fortunate to have one.</span></div>
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<b>A footnote: Drama Cyno is Down</b></div>
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<i>"There are drama queens on the CSM - that's true. There are people who are less active than others on the CSM; that is also true... and sometimes, that can be a problem for the whole institution. I mean, nobody likes people who like attention too much, for example."</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Regarding <a href="http://www.themittani.com/news/csm-straight-dope?page=0%2C5" target="_blank">Sion</a> and <a href="http://crossingzebras.com/on-transparency/" target="_blank">Xander</a>'s differences, much as I value their respective qualities and the candour of their communication with the community, I was never going to actually vote for either of them, so I don't need to decide how I feel about all the drama on that front. As for Funkybacon, I know all I need to know at this stage; finally, it really doesn't matter what he did or didn't do during the term, because he's not running for CSM X. <a href="http://funkybacon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/a-response-to-ccp-leeloo.html" target="_blank">Pettifogging quibbles</a> aside, his contributions clearly left much to be desired, and when he started <a href="http://funkybacon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/csm9-review-blog.html" target="_blank">whining in public</a> about the pointlessness of the CSM, CCP Leeloo was well within her rights to point out that unlike many of his colleagues, he had done nothing to address the problems he complained of - compare her willingness to publish Sion's similar but <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/csm-9-review/" target="_blank">more measured and constructive comments</a> without demur. If she did this job with her "trollface" on, that's very much the CCP communication style - to call it <a href="https://twitter.com/ADTurelus/status/561984277899149312" target="_blank">"unprofessional"</a> is, in my view, unfair.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-17303723051628749582015-02-13T21:19:00.000+00:002015-02-16T18:34:40.661+00:00The Comet Landing - a dramatisation<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<i>In which Philae the robot lands on a comet, not once but thrice, amid general rejoicing. A loosely paraphrased adaptation of the <a href="http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding" target="_blank">live TV broadcasts</a> and twitter commentary. Soundtrack <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHU67s5tOSA" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rosetta: Have fun!</span></div>
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Philae: <i>(detaches)</i> Wheeeeeeeeeeee<br />
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">500 million kilometres away, a Nice Lady is speaking to the TV cameras and Assembled Dignitaries. She is almost the only woman in the room.</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Nice Lady: We're going to talk to some white men about science.</span></div>
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50 million girls: Mummy, is she a scientist?<br />
Mummies: No darling, she's just a TV presenter.<br />
Assembled dignitaries: 7/10 I would.<br />
Nice Lady: Mr Churyumov, thank you for joining us. You discovered comet 67P...<br />
Churyumov: No, but I was on many committees. Now I will sit on more and better committees. I tell you story of entire life until now.<br />
Nice Lady: Please continue.<br />
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">45 mins later</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Philae: eeeeeeeeeeee</span></div>
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Churyumov: ...and that is how I got the credit.<br />
Nice Lady: Thank you Professor. Now let's talk to this chubby middle-aged woman whose name I have already forgotten. Aren't you excited to be getting all this attention from so many important men?<br />
Gerasimenko: <i>(through interpreter)</i> Not really. Never before and never again will they give for me time of day.<br />
Assembled dignitaries: WTF LOL she looks like my housekeeper. <i>(all check Twitter)</i><br />
Nice Lady: How did you help Professor Churyumov make this important discovery?<br />
Gerasimenko: <i>(through interpreter)</i> I did the scien-<br />
Nice Lady: That's all we have time for. Now we need to talk to a person who was in high school when the hard work was done on this project, but is about to be given most of the credit.<br />
Matt Taylor: This is very exciting! I am finally gonna get laid.<br />
Matt's shirt: I LIKE SEXY LADIES<br />
Everyone watching: He looks like a PUA.<br />
50 million girls: Mummy, what's a PUA?<br />
50 million boys: Dad, I wanna be a PUA.<br />
50 million dads: Hehe, ye little tyke.<br />
Nice Lady: What would you like to say with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to inspire a generation with your humility and insight?<br />
Matt: I am literally hard right now.<br />
Matt's shirt: LOL TITS OR GTFO<br />
50 million dads: Finally a scientist who can communicate like a normal person.<br />
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Soon after</i></div>
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Philae: eeeeeeeeeBOING wheeeeeeeeeee<br />
Politician: I fought tooth and nail against this project through five committees, but I now claim some credit because I, too, am a white European male.<br />
Nice lady: Why did you oppose the project?<br />
Politician: It cost 1.4 billion euro.<br />
London: LOL we spend more on taxi fares.<br />
NASA: LOL we spend more on websites.<br />
Pentagon: LOL we spend more on toilet paper.<br />
German politician: This was successful because we all worked together.<br />
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British politician: We won the war so we are better than you.<br />
Nice Lady <i>(turning to NASA representative)</i>: As a world-class scientist and black woman, why are you here?<br />
NASA rep: They let me do this because it makes Europe look bad, and because it's not a very important job.</div>
Philae: eeeeeeeeeeeeeBOING wheeeeeeeeeeee</div>
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Nice Lady: Now let's go to mission control.<br />
Scientists: None of us have had a shower for three days.<br />
50 million girls: Look mummy! That scientist is a lady!<br />
Aghast mothers: And she isn't wearing a BRA. FOR SHAME.<br />
Dads: 5/10 didn't notice tbh.<br />
Philae: ...sup<br />
Rosetta: ...sup<br />
Scientists: WOOT<br />
Politicians: This has been a great day for humanity. Women and people of colour should also be pleased for us.<br />
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">2 days later</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Nice Lady: Do you have a good connection to Rosetta?</span></div>
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Scientist: Yes, we have clear radio contact...</div>
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Rosetta: ...28kbps wtf D:<br />
Scientist: Unfortunately the lander's solar panels aren't getting enough light, so Philae has gone to sleep. Here is a cute cartoon.</div>
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Philae: ...all a-a-alone... so d-dark... and c-cold... <i>(dies slowly in pain and despair)</i><br />
Nice Lady: A question from the public: why didn't you use plutonium batteries for the lander?<br />
Scientist: Because some people in Europe are politically opposed to killing everybody in the world.<br />
Everyone in the USA: OMG LOL PUSSIES<br />
Nice Lady: Matt, tell us how sensitive you are.<br />
Matt's other shirt: <i>(no comment just like the clothes everyone else has been wearing all week)</i><br />
Matt: I sexually harassed 100 million people on Tuesday. I apologise if anyone was offended. I will now weep because they are so mean.</div>
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Everyone in the world: Boys will be boys.<br />
The Internet: FEMISTS MADE MATT CRY THEY HATE SCIENCE BECAUSE OVARIES<br />
Richard Dawkins: <a href="https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/533526273101164544" target="_blank">True feminism</a> is <a href="https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/14413735301" target="_blank">white male scientists criticising women's clothing choices</a>, never <a href="https://twitter.com/roseveleth/status/532538957490561024/" target="_blank">vice-versa</a>.<br />
<a href="http://aas.org/posts/news/2014/11/aas-issues-statement-shirtgateshirtstorm" target="_blank">Actual</a> <a href="https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/2538-ras-statement-on-shirtgate-shirtstorm" target="_blank">scientists</a> <a href="http://asa.astronomy.org.au/ASA_Equity_Statement.pdf" target="_blank">everywhere</a>: Shut up Dawkins.</div>
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Meanwhile, in homes around the world</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">50 million boys: Let's play scientists and PR ladies.</span></div>
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50 million girls: Tell me, Professor Boobyshirt, how did you do this amazing science thing?<br />
Boys: I will only tell you if you suck my willy.<br />
Dads: Hehe, ye little tyke.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-6580562132015407492015-02-12T15:53:00.002+00:002015-02-16T18:34:59.228+00:00Wanton Gods pt.II: A Modest Proposal<div>
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This post is the second in a series; you can find <a href="http://themindofvoth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/wanton-gods.html" target="_blank">part one here</a>.</div>
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<i>"...having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors, I have always found them grossly mistaken in the computation." - Swift, A Modest Proposal</i></blockquote>
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Two years ago <a href="http://jestertrek.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/this-fine-ship-this-fine-crew.html" target="_blank">Ripard Teg tackled the topic</a> of in-game ship crews, a notion that's been on the table at CCP, and in the dreams of players like me, for a long time. Ripard rightly pointed out that there were some fundamental problems with a lot of the ideas that have been put forward to date; to paraphrase:</div>
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(1) - it would be too easy to game any experience system by "giving [an] alt 100 T1 cruisers and blapping them slowly with fighters";</div>
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(2) - it would further widen the gap between veteran and novice players (already huge because of maxed-out skills, boosters, bling, etc)</div>
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(3) - it would funnel high-end crews towards high-sec PvE at the expense of PvP;</div>
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(4) - it would tend to increase risk-aversion in PvP.</div>
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He'd never seen a workable proposal that addressed these concerns, and neither have I - but I where he sees a problem, I see a game design challenge, so since reading that post I've been chewing, on and off, on a way to make crews work. Here's my proposal: tell me why I'm wrong.<br />
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EDIT: Sugar Kyle very kindly commented on these ideas, in <a href="http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/2015/02/if-i-must-share.html" target="_blank">a post</a> where she expressed her own misgivings about the notion of crews disturbing her congenial shipboard solitude. The comments went off on various pleasing in-character tangents, prompting a <a href="http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/2015/02/when-comments-get-out-of-control.html" target="_blank">follow-up from Sugar</a> that had me chortling.<br />
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<b>Summary:</b></div>
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Nearly every ship will require a crew to undock; larger (more expensive) crews are required for larger ships, and more skilled (more expensive) crews are required to use advanced ships and high-meta fittings. Basic low-skilled crews will be quite cheap.</div>
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When a ship is destroyed, its crew automatically and safely ejects in a pod, which appears off-grid. The crew can then be rescued by the owner, or by a contracted rescuer - or kidnapped by hostiles and re-educated for re-use or re-sale. Crew rescue and kidnapping requires ships to be in space and provides various opportunities for piracy.</div>
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Crews gain experience through PvP (kills and losses) under strictly limited circumstances, which then allows them to be trained to a higher skill level. Recruitment of low-skilled crews is only possible through PI on temperate planets in low-sec space; training and re-education is carried out in POS modules or mobile deployables which cannot be anchored in high-sec.</div>
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<b>Design goals:</b></div>
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I have tried to:</div>
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- ensure that any increase in crew value through experience is always less than the associated value of destroyed ships, so that grinding for crew experience would always be a loss-making activity (see 1 above);</div>
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- impose additional costs for veterans' toys, such as extravagant fittings and very large ships (see 2);</div>
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- limit additional benefits beyond those already accruing to veterans to be minimal or zero (see 2);</div>
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- avoid increasing, and tend to mitigate, the cost of subcap ship loss in PvP (see 3 & 4);</div>
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- provide a new source of income for small-gang and solo PvPers, especially in lowsec (see 3);</div>
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- recruitment & training should tend to transfer wealth from high-SP to lower-SP characters (PI and FW are both an example and a warning, with due respect to Malcanis' law);</div>
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- create a new, accessible profession for players who enjoy fast-paced, short-spell PvE with an element of risk;</div>
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- create new ways for pirates to ambush other players and generally ruin their day by doing horrible things to their beloved crew;</div>
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- avoid making ship fitting choices any more complex than they already are (but see pt.III to follow);</div>
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- avoid the need for obviously difficult or expensive development (unforeseen difficulties are always possible because of legacy code weirdness);</div>
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- offer the simplest possible system that meets these goals.</div>
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In pt.III I will suggest modifications to this core system which would offer increased complexity and more interesting gameplay choices.</div>
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<b>Lore hand-waving:</b></div>
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Crews are tradable commodities because their contracts can be bought and sold, a bit like football players. Some members of Amarr crews might be slaves, but others will be paid employees. Staff turnover, salaries and so forth are not modelled by this system; salary costs are assumed to be negligible and/or included in contract fees. Recruitment is possible only from temperate planets in low-security Empire space; direct recruitment by capsuleers in high-sec is illegal in all empires, and planets in null-sec and wormholes are too sparsely populated to sustain recruitment efforts.</div>
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<b>Crew size</b></div>
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Crews come in five sizes (small, medium, large, capital, supercapital) and five skill levels (I-V). Demobilized (packaged) crews can be stacked and traded on the market, combined with other crews of the same size & skill level to form larger crews, or split into multiple smaller crews, retaining their skill level. Once mobilized (assembled), crews can be assigned (fitted) to ships or exchanged via contracts, separately or as assigned to an assembled ship. Mobilized crews not assigned to a ship can be demobilized at any time; this causes the loss of any experience they may have gained (see below).</div>
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Apart from rookie ships and tech 1 frigates, all ships require a crew; ships without the minimum required crew cannot undock. Crews are assigned to ships via the fitting window; most ships have two or three crew slots, each of which takes a crew of the appropriate size - as with rigs, except that there are "supercapital" crews.<br />
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This roughly matches the crew sizes outlined <a href="https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/New_Eden_crew_guidelines" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<tr> <th>Ship type</th><th>Crew required</th><th>Crew slots</th><th>Crew size</th><th>Crew vol.</th><th>Escape pod vol.</th> </tr>
<tr> <td>Shuttle, Rookie</td><td>none</td><td>none</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Tech 1 Frigate</td><td>none</td><td>two</td><td rowspan="3">small - 5 individuals</td><td rowspan="3">10m<sup>3</sup></td><td rowspan="3">40m<sup>3</sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>All other frigates</td><td>one</td><td>two</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Destroyers</td><td>two</td><td>three</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Cruisers, Mining Barges</td><td>one</td><td>two</td><td rowspan="2">medium - 25ppl - smallx5</td><td rowspan="2">50m<sup>3</sup></td><td rowspan="2">200m<sup>3</sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Battlecruisers, Industrials</td><td>two</td><td>three</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Battleships</td><td>one</td><td>two</td><td rowspan="2">large - 100ppl - smallx20</td><td rowspan="2">200m<sup>3</sup></td><td rowspan="2">800m<sup>3</sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Orca</td><td>two</td><td>three</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Carrier, Freighter</td><td>one</td><td>two</td><td rowspan="2">capital - 400ppl - smallx80</td><td rowspan="2">800m<sup>3</sup></td><td rowspan="2">4x800m<sup>3</sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Dreadnought, Rorqual</td><td>two</td><td>three</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Supercarrier</td><td>one</td><td>two</td><td rowspan="2">supercapital - 1600ppl - smallx320</td><td rowspan="2">3200m<sup>3</sup></td><td rowspan="2">16x800m<sup>3</sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Titan</td><td>two</td><td>three</td> </tr>
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Only the <i>most skilled</i> ("primary") crew has any direct effect on the ship; any second or third crew assigned is "secondary". Secondary crews can gain experience (see below), and are required for some ships (see above), but have no other effect.</div>
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<b>Crew skill</b></div>
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Crews of all sizes come in five skill levels (I-V). Only the primary (most skilled) crew of the ship have any direct effect on performance.</div>
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The effect of crew skill is to <b><i>cap</i></b> the effectiveness of advanced ships, equipment, boosters and implants. A lvl I crew is sufficient for tech 1 ships with tech 1 or low meta equipment, with synth boosters and no implants; more advanced alternatives require more highly skilled crews as follows:</div>
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<tr> <th>Skill level</th><th>Ship types</th><th>Modules</th><th>Boosters</th><th>Hardwiring implants</th><th>Pirate implants</th> </tr>
<tr> <td>I</td><td>Tech 1</td><td>Tech 1 & low meta</td><td>Synth</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr>
<tr> <td>II</td><td>Navy Faction</td><td>Tech 2</td><td>Standard</td><td>1-2%</td><td>low-grade</td></tr>
<tr> <td>III</td><td>Tech 2 & Pirate faction</td><td>Faction & storyline</td><td>Improved</td><td>3-4%</td><td>mid-grade</td></tr>
<tr> <td>IV</td><td>Tech 3</td><td>Deadspace</td><td>Strong</td><td>5-6%</td><td>high-grade</td></tr>
<tr> <td>V</td><td>Tournament & special edition (Emergency Responder etc)</td><td>Officer</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
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Legacy code permitting, crew skill could also limit the effectiveness of fleet boosts and mindlinks.</div>
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Advanced ships cannot undock without a primary crew of the required skill level. If a pilot uses modules, boosters or implants that are beyond the skill level of the crew, they are reduced in effectiveness to match the most advanced module/booster/implant compatible with the crew's skill. Fitting requirements and skill pre-requisites are not affected.</div>
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<u>Example</u>: Spike Azabuyer has optimistically fit a faction shield booster to his Navy Raven, but has only assigned a lvl II crew, so it functions as a Tech 2 shield booster instead. He probably ought to stick with Tech 2 until he can train or buy a better crew. However, the faction module is easier to fit and has lower skill requirements, so he might choose to fly it anyway.</div>
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If the crew's skill is <i><b>higher</b> than the minimum</i> required for the ship, boosters and implants, <i>and</i> higher than the minimum required for fitted modules of a given category, the ship gains corresponding bonuses. This allows high-end crews to improve the performance of more modest ships & equipment, without giving additional advantages to pilots who are already making full use of other bonuses. The following is based on <a href="http://nevillesmit.com/blog/2013/8/8/where-are-all-the-people" target="_blank">an idea by Neville Smit</a>.</div>
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Offensive (weapons): 1% bonus to rate of fire per additional skill level</div>
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Propulsion (including agility mods): 1% bonus to speed</div>
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Defensive (all tank modules): 1% bonus to hit points</div>
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Electronics (including EWAR and sensor mods): 1% bonus to targeting range & EWAR range</div>
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Engineering (including all cap & fitting mods): 1% bonus to capacitor recharge</div>
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<u>Example</u>: Frosty Tuskerson is flying his beloved Navy Hookbill with a lvl III primary crew, which is one level better than the minimum required for the ship. His fit is mostly tech 2, but he has fitted a faction point and afterburner. As such, his crew gives him a 1% bonus to rate of fire, hit points and cap recharge. The crew are only adequately skilled for his faction prop and EWAR mods, so he gains no additional bonuses to point range or speed. If he takes an improved booster or flies with a mid-grade pirate implant, he will lose these bonuses.<br />
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Frosty also uses the same crew when flying his Hawk (Assault Frigate) and Dramiel (Pirate frigate). This crew has the minimum skill level needed for these ships, which gain no additional bonuses as a result.</div>
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<b>Escape & Rescue</b></div>
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When a ship is destroyed, the crew <i>automatically</i> escape; this can be explained in the lore as new technology powered by a single-use emergency warp drive. Crew escape pods of an appropriate size appear in space off-grid after a short delay, around 1 million km from the wreck (similar to log-off warp spots). Secondary crews have separate pods. There are no capital escape pods; capital and supercapital crews are divided between multiple large pods (see above), which all appear in separate locations. Additional crews carried in the cargohold do not escape through these mechanics, they are randomly lost or remain in the wreck, as for other loot. Mobilised crews retrieved from wrecks are automatically demobilized, but kidnapped crews retain their kidnapped status (see below).</div>
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Once in space, escape pods can be found only with combat probes. By default they are very difficult to scan down:</div>
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Large escape pod: requires an optimised scanning ship with near-perfect skills to get a 100% warpable hit.</div>
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Medium escape pod: requires a perfectly optimised Covert Ops ship with perfect skills.</div>
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Small escape pod: requires all of the above plus mid-grade Virtue implants.</div>
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However, the crew's owner gains a substantial bonus to signal strength on their own escape pods, making them scannable with basic skills and a tech 1 scanning frigate fitted with tech 1 equipment; the aim here is that even new characters should be able to rescue their own crew.</div>
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On warping to the signature, the owner lands 25-50 km from the pod, and needs to slowboat to it; this creates a window of opportunity for pirates and kidnappers. The pod is not warpable, and the distance here is selected to prevent MJD from being used to cut the journey short. Once within normal cargo transfer range (2500m), the owner can transfer the crew to their cargohold. This takes up the volume required for the crew only; the empty escape pod disappears from space like a jetcan.</div>
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Escape pods disappear from space after 12 - (5 x (truesec +1)) hours, e.g. 2hrs in 1.0 highsec, 6.5hrs in 0.1 lowsec, 12hrs in -1.0 nullsec. The crew's subsequent fate is as follows:</div>
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Empire station systems: crew has a truesec/1 chance of being rescued and taken to the nearest station; if so they are demobilised and their contract put on the market as an NPC sell order at market average +5% to "defray rescue costs". This is a potentially significant ISK sink. Crews not rescued are lost.</div>
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NPC nullsec: crew is lost, possibly killed or abducted by local pirates (see pt.III for further ideas).</div>
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Nullsec outpost system: a sov upgrade could allow the sov holder to appropriate lost crews for resale.</div>
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Non-station system: crew is lost.</div>
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Crews lost through these mechanics should provide a sufficient "crew sink" to prevent runaway inflation, but if necessary, the chance of automatic rescue in station systems can be reduced, and higher rates of crew attrition can be added to the training mechanics to sustain demand (see below).</div>
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<b>Crew Kidnapping</b></div>
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All crews carry tracking implants that broadcast a status signal, so pilots are fully informed of the fate of their crew through the notification system. Rescue, loss, kidnapping or murder are all immediately communicated to the pilot. If the crew are kidnapped and taken to another system, the owner is notified of which system they are in at any time.</div>
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<u>Example notifications:</u></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your crew <Newbiecrew2> have escaped the destruction of your ship in Nennamaila and await rescue within 8.5 hours. Create rescue contract?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your crew <Freighteralt's large crew 4> in Niarja have been rescued by local authorities. Their employment contract has been placed on the market to defray rescue costs.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">You have rescued the kidnapped crew <HelplessKittens> belonging to Rainbow Flash. Create ransom contract?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your crew <Newbiecrew2> in BG-B0Y have been kidnapped by ScaryPirate94! Create ransom contract?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Contract cancelled: rescue contract for <Newbiecrew2>.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Newbie Bravekid has offered a ransom for their crew <Newbiecrew2>. Click to view contract.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">ScaryPirate94 has demanded a ransom for your kidnapped crew <Newbiecrew2>. Click to view contract.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your kidnapped crew <Newbiecrew2> have been taken to VFK-IV.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your kidnapped crew <Newbiecrew2> are being re-educated in VFK-IV. The process is expected to take 72hrs.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Your kidnapped crew <Newbiecrew2> have been murdered by NastyGoon746! Click to view camera drone footage.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Contract cancelled: ransom for <Newbiecrew2>.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">There are two ways for players to kidnap unfriendly crews from their escape pods:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1. If a player successfully scans down and warps to another player's escape pod, they land on-grid 25-50km from the pod (as for the owner), but the pod will be moving at 1-3km/s (see above) in a random direction in a 90 degree arc away from the landing point. As the pod is not warpable, it will need to be chased down, e.g. by a fast MWD-fit frigate. Stasis webifiers can be used to reduce the speed of the escape pod. </blockquote>
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The escape pod can be shot and destroyed, killing the crew (a criminal act in high- and low-sec), or hacked using a data analyser. Starting the hack gives the player a suspect flag in high- and low-sec. If the hack is successful, the pod stops moving; the escape pod can then be loaded as cargo into any ship within 2500m (note the larger cargo size of escape pods). If the hack is unsuccessful, or if the pod leaves grid, it warps to a new location within 1m km and must be scanned down again. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
2. Alternatively, once the crew's owner has initiated warp to the escape pod, the pod will stop moving, and become directly accessible without hacking. Anyone else warping to the signature will then land 25-50km from the pod as usual. This makes it possible to kidnap a crew from under the owner's nose, and to ambush rescue ships.</blockquote>
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Once captured, a kidnapped crew cannot be immediately used in other ships; they must first be re-educated. Meanwhile, they must be kept in a secure facility, which requires additional space; the in-game effect is that they remain in their (bulky) escape pod until re-education is complete. Re-education requires the use of a mobile deployable or POS module, and takes several days. The owner is notified when re-education begins and the system where the crew are being held, giving them the opportunity to mount a rescue operation if they wish.</div>
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If crew are removed from a re-education center or facility by a third party before the re-education process is complete, they remain unfriendly to the rescuers; they can only be re-educated or returned to their original owners via the contract system. If the re-education process is interrupted for any reason, it fails and must restart from the beginning.</div>
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<u>Mobile Re-education Facility</u> - mobile deployable</div>
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Capacity: 200m<sup>3</sup> (one medium or five small crews)</div>
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Reinforcement timer as for Mobile Depots, with a 48-hour recovery window.</div>
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Re-education time: 72 hrs</div>
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Cannot be deployed in high-sec, or inside a POS shield.</div>
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Access: Facility must first be reinforced; it can then be accessed by hacking after 24hrs, or destroyed after 48hrs. Can be scooped at any time by the owner.</div>
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Owner is notified of hacking attempts, but there are no attack notifications.</div>
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<u>Re-education Center</u> - POS module</div>
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Capacity: 3200m<sup>3</sup> (four large crews, equivalent to one capital crew)</div>
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Reinforcement timer: none; depends on POS shield for protection.</div>
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Re-education time: 144 hrs</div>
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Cannot be deployed in highsec.</div>
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Access: open to all; this would normally be deployed inside a POS shield for security.</div>
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Owner is notified of all access, including viewing, adding or removing crews.</div>
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Once re-educated, captured crews become a demobilized crew of the same size and skill level as before, and can be traded and used by any capsuleer. The previous owner receives a final notification that the re-education process is complete:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Your former crew <Newbiecrew2> have been successfully re-educated in VFK-IV. Their employment contract has been annulled.</li>
<li>Contract cancelled: ransom for <Newbiecrew2>.</li>
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Crews and escape pods carried as cargo cannot escape; if the ship is destroyed, they may be lost, or remain in the wreck as loot. Looted crews are automatically demobilized, meaning that they can be used by any capsuleer without the need for re-education. Kidnapped crews looted in their escape pods remain hostile to the rescuers, and must be re-educated or returned to the original owners via the contract system.</div>
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<b>Trade & Contracts</b></div>
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Demobilized crew can be freely traded on the market. Any crew, including mobilized crew (with or without experience) and kidnapped crews (in escape pods) can be transferred through item exchange contracts. Kidnapped crews, if transferred, remain unfriendly to their new owners, and must be re-educated or returned to their original owner.</div>
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Rescue contracts: The notification system offers the pilot the option to create a rescue contract for any missing crew. This is similar to a courier contract; it can be public, private or corporate, the owner sets a destination station for the crew, there is an option to set collateral (to prevent crew theft by "rescuers") and a fee to the rescuer. Anyone accepting such a contract (and paying the collateral) can rescue a crew from space as if they were that crew's owner; the collateral is returned to them when the crew is delivered to the destination station. Rescue contracts are automatically cancelled if the crew is kidnapped by a third party; if the contract has already been accepted, the rescuer loses their collateral. As a consequence, rescuers will want to accept rescue contracts only at the last possible moment, when they are ready to scan for the escape pod.</div>
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Ransom contracts: Kidnappers are offered the option to set up a private ransom contract with the crew's owner - the owner can choose whether to accept or reject this. Owners of captured crew are offered the option to set up a ransom contract for their return; this contract is visible to anyone holding the crew in question.</div>
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<b>Recruitment</b></div>
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New lvl I crews are recruited only through PI on temperate planets in lowsec space. Capsuleers can recruit crews by placing a Recruitment Center on any such planet where they have installed a Command Center.</div>
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<u>Recruitment Center</u> (RC)</div>
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Build cost: 2,000,000 ISK</div>
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Powergrid: 8500 MW</div>
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CPU: 7000 tf</div>
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Note that a level 2 Command Center is sufficient to run a Recruitment Center, but due to the high powergrid & cpu costs, it is never possible to operate more than two RCs on the same planet.</div>
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An RC recruits crews at a standard rate (~20 small crews in 24 hrs) which varies with security status; lower sec planets recruits faster, as the population are more desperate. If more than one RC is placed on the same planet by <i>any</i> player, <i>all </i>RCs on that planet suffer stacking penalties according to the usual formula (2 RCs operate at 86.9%, 3 RCs operate at 57.1%, etc). As a consequence, multiple RCs on the same planet recruit more crew in total, but each RC is less productive.</div>
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Storage Facilities are not designed to accommodate crew; the additional facilities required mean that the crew takes up additional storage space, equivalent to escape pod volume (40m<sup>3</sup> per small crew) rather than the normal crew volume. Crew cannot be transferred to Customs Offices from a Launchpad; they must be launched into space in shuttles (cans) from the Command Center.</div>
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It would be possible to enrich the gameplay of this system, presumably through a more comprehensive reworking of PI in general. The main aim here is to concentrate recruitment in low-sec, and to include an element of risk (ships in space) in the process.</div>
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<b>Training & Experience</b></div>
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Recruits cannot immediately be used as crews; they must first be trained off-planet in a Training facility.</div>
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<div>
<u>Mobile Training Facility</u> - mobile deployable</div>
<div>
Capacity: 200m<sup>3</sup> (20 small crews, 4 medium, 1 large)</div>
<div>
Reinforcement timer as for Mobile Depots, with a 48-hour recovery window.</div>
<div>
Training time: 72 hrs</div>
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Cannot be deployed in high-sec, or inside a POS shield.</div>
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Access: Facility must first be reinforced; it can then be accessed by hacking after 24hrs, or destroyed after 48hrs. Can be scooped at any time by the owner.</div>
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Owner is notified of hacking attempts, but there are no attack notifications.</div>
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<div>
<u>Training Center</u> - POS module</div>
<div>
Capacity: 800m<sup>3</sup> (4 large crews, sufficient for one capital)</div>
<div>
Reinforcement timer: none; depends on POS shield for protection.</div>
<div>
Training time: 144 hrs</div>
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Cannot be deployed in highsec.</div>
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Access: open to all; this would normally be deployed inside a POS shield for security.</div>
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Owner is notified of all access, including viewing, adding or removing crews.<br />
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All crews are highly trained in the relevant disciplines, using the most advanced techniques available, but only testing in the heat of battle can uncover their true mettle. To train beyond lvl I, crews must first gain experience through PvP.</div>
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Once trained to lvl I, crews gain further experience in two ways; through ship loss, and by destroying other ships. Capital and Supercapital crews do not gain experience under any circumstances. Several other conditions must be met:</div>
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<u>Ship loss</u></div>
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The crew must not exceed the skill level required for the ship and fitted modules. If any crew skill bonuses apply (see above), the crew cannot gain experience. If crew skill bonuses would apply, but are lost due to implants or boosters in use, the crew cannot gain experience.</div>
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The ship must be destroyed in PvP, i.e., at least one player character must appear on the lossmail. Crew do not gain experience if the ship is lost to rats, faction police, etc.</div>
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CONCORD must not appear on the lossmail.</div>
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<u>Ship destruction</u></div>
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All the above conditions must apply.</div>
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The ship must appear as "top damage" on the killmail (crews of assisting ships cannot gain experience).</div>
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The skill of the crew on the destroyed ship must not be lower than the skill of the attacking ship (no experience from fighting less-skilled crews).</div>
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The destroyed ship must be equal to or better than the attacking ship in size and in technology (no experience from destroying inferior ships).</div>
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The effect of all this is that crews gain experience only when flying a ship that matches their skill level, and only when that ship, or a comparable ship, is destroyed in PvP. This sets a hard cap on the potential for gaming the system; for example, lvl IV crews only gain experience (allowing advancement to lvl V) when a tech 3 ship (their own or someone else's) of equal or greater size is destroyed. There's nothing to prevent players from shooting their alts, but this would bring them no financial benefit, as the cost of the ships lost would still greatly outweigh the value of the crew experience gained.</div>
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If all these conditions are met, the crew have a chance to become "experienced". The base chance could be around 70%, potentially modified by e.g. Charisma and/or Leadership skills (see also pt.III). Only mobilized crew can gain experience; once demobilized, any experience is lost. Experience does not have any immediate effect, but it allows the crew to be trained to the next level.</div>
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The training process brings together multiple experienced crews of equal size and skill, and uses detailed analysis of crew actions during their career, combined with rigorous further testing, to identify those with the potential to progress further. In the process, the most promising individuals are separated from their teams, and reorganised into new crews, distilling their excellence from the rest of the cohort. At higher skill levels, the training is so gruelling that lives are lost in the process. The outcome of the training process, if successful, is a single demobilized crew of a higher skill level; the other (surviving) crews are also demobilized, remaining at their previous skill level and losing their "experienced" status. If the training process is interrupted, all crews from the original cohort are demobilized; there are no deaths, but no progression is possible, and all experience is lost.</div>
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The training cohort can be composed of identical crews of any size, as long as the entire cohort fits within the available capacity. All crews in the training cohort must be the same size and skill level, and all must be experienced.</div>
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<tr> <th>Training cohort</th><th>Output</th><th>Deaths</th></tr>
<tr> <td>3x lvl I</td><td>1x lvl II, 2x lvl I</td><td>none</td></tr>
<tr> <td>4x lvl II</td><td>1x lvl III, 3x lvl II</td><td>none</td></tr>
<tr> <td>7x lvl III</td><td>1x lvl IV, 5x lvl III</td><td>one lvl III crew</td></tr>
<tr> <td>15x lvl IV</td><td>1x lvl V, 11x lvl IV</td><td>three lvl IV crews</td></tr>
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The limited capacity of a Training Center makes it impossible to train large crews beyond lvl III; in effect, large crews cannot benefit from experience beyond this level. Medium crews can be trained up to lvl V in a Training Center, so the lvl IV medium crew of a Tech 3 cruiser can still benefit from experience. A Mobile Training Facility cannot train large crews; medium crews can be trained up to lvl III, and small crews up to lvl V.</div>
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<b>Examples</b></div>
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Jimbob Newbro is a two-week old player who flies tech 1 frigates and destroyers. He can't even fit tech 2 mods yet, so he's fine with a basic (and very cheap) level I crew. He gets one assigned to him at the start, and can get more by completing the career tutorial missions.</div>
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A month later, Jimbob can fit tech 2 modules in some slots, so he needs level II crews for the destroyers and cruisers he's flying now. If he's taken care of the small crews he started out with, and taken the plunge into lowsec, he could have several trained up to this level by now; if not he may need to pay a little extra for them.</div>
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After three more months, Jimbob is ready for tech 2 frigates. He's not scared of lowsec, so he has a couple of level three crews to fly these ships, but when his shiny new Interceptor gets destroyed, he'll need to make sure he rescues or ransoms the crew, or they will be a bit expensive to replace. He can also fit faction mods to his cruisers, but a level III cruiser crew is a lot of money for him, so this may be a risky choice.</div>
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Meanwhile, if Wormy Sleeperbait wants to undock in his blingy tech 3 cruiser, he'll need to invest a decent amount of money in a level IV cruiser crew. It's not all that much for him, but it makes the crew a tempting target for kidnappers if he gets popped.</div>
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Finally, Blobster McGoon's Titan alt has to spend tens of billions on a lvl V Supercapital crew in order to make the most of his ridiculously high officer resists. If the ship does finally go boom, the kidnappers will be on them like sharks on chum.</div>
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</b> <b>Conclusions</b></div>
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Hopefully nobody will grind for crew experience - not because it would be impossible, but because it would <i>cost</i> money. The system is intended to put money in the pockets of subcap PvPers at the expense of (a) capital and supercap pilots, and (b) people who fly blinged-out ships. It should offer a new source of income for lowsec-dwellers, and open up a new career accessible to newbies who enjoy a dash of risk. Kidnapping, and ambushing rescuers, should also create entertaining and potentially lucrative opportunities for resourceful and well-prepared pirates.</div>
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I hope it's also not too nightmarish to implement; there are a few new bonuses and penalties to consider, but nothing that doesn't resemble existing systems. Escape pods in space would probably be the hardest part to program, but even this should be a much quicker job than creating a typical exploration site. "Camera drone footage" of crew killing might also be fiddly, but could be gloriously ghoulish fun if implemented. It may not be possible with existing systems to use hacking modules on a moving target; if it isn't, kidnapping could be tweaked in any number of other ways to make it a non-trivial challenge.</div>
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Thank you (both?) for reading this far! I would love to hear your thoughts. Tell me why I'm wrong.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-27055663484979015592015-02-12T00:07:00.000+00:002015-02-16T18:36:05.266+00:00Time for a Remap<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
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Our characters all have attributes, a staple of roleplaying games since Gary Gygax (peace be upon him). This stands to reason - some people are by nature smarter, some more charismatic and so on, and it seems an appealingly straightforward way of making characters seem different and distinctive. But attributes are supposed to be more or less fixed - so CCP in their wisdom decided that they would affect the speed we learn new skills. They also added learning skills (later removed) and implants, so we could learn faster - and remaps, so we can change our attributes if they no longer suit us. This, of course, removes a lot of the point of having attributes in the first place; they don't make my character feel distinctive, they're just a means to a rather abstract end.</div>
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All in all, this a mildly horrible piece of game design. Learning implants (which increase attributes, accelerating learning) have a few redeeming features, but they too are badly flawed in execution and impact. I've learned recently that this is not a universally-held view, so let's unpack this for a moment.</div>
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<b>1. Remapping attributes offers no interesting gameplay choices</b>, and requires zero ingenuity. There is an optimal choice, and a range of sub-optimal choices; putting a wish list into EVEMon and pressing "optimise" involves neither mastery nor fun. Even without third-party tools, anyone willing to do the busywork of checking the learning attributes for every skill in their plan can easily create a near-optimal training plan for themselves; it's not clever, it's just a hassle. Compare this with post-Crius manufacturing, for example, where the interplay of job costs, logistics costs, risk exposure and market prices creates a complex system, where dozens of variables have to be juggled to find a constantly-changing range of differently-optimal solutions.</div>
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<b>2. The optimal learning plan <i>always</i> comes at the expense of usability and usefulness for active characters</b>. For optimal results, I have to neglect whole categories of skills for long periods; this generally means that I can't take full advantage of the skills in my plan for months at a time. I sacrifice a gradual, incremental growth in capabilities in order to get to my end goal sooner. In other words: <b>in order to progress optimally, I have to have less fun.</b></div>
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This is also the problem with learning implants: they punish risk-taking, as the optimal learning strategy is never to undock. Subcap PvP with a head full of +5s isn't a bold and audacious choice which can pay off for a skilled or lucky player; it's simply a mistake. Again, this mechanism rewards inactivity at the expense of active players; inactive alts can be left with +5s in-station to train, whereas players will hopefully want to undock and do things on their main, and rightly recognise the foolhardiness of doing so with high-end implants.<br />
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<b>3.</b> The consequence of all this is that <b>attributes and learning implants offer a large advantage to (veteran) players training inactive alts in comparison with active (new) players training main characters</b>. If I spend PLEX on an alt account or multi-character training, I can train my alt up to fly a freighter or whatever, and do nothing with that character until their training is complete. This is not an option for an active newbie, who will want to increase their capabilities gradually and as soon as possible, necessarily sacrificing efficiency in order to increase short- and medium-term utility.</div>
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Sacrificing fun for success was bad enough, but the last of these, to me, is the killer. EVE has long been described as a gerontocracy, and the accumulated resources and skills of veterans will always dwarf the capabilities of newcomers, but the game's design should aim to mitigate that problem, not exacerbate it. Veterans will always be able to take maximum advantage of any game system, but <a href="http://jestertrek.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/breaking-law.html" target="_blank">Malcanis' law</a> notwithstanding, the systems should be designed to make it possible for a resourceful new player to gain the maximum benefit without having to sacrifice their own gameplay or fun.</div>
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With me so far? Ok. So here's the thing: the idea of being able to customise my character is nonetheless really appealing. Why shouldn't Voth be better at some things and worse at others? The problem is not with the idea of attributes, but with the way they function in the game. Changing the function of attributes could make them more meaningful and interesting; rather than simply removing them from the game, let's use them to make different characters <i>feel</i> slightly, but recognisably, different.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-14603323904790455822015-02-11T18:57:00.000+00:002015-02-16T18:35:10.376+00:00Wanton Gods<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport. <i>- King Lear</i></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Capsuleers are the wanton gods of New Eden; the baseliners who serve them, as far beneath their masters as the ants beneath our feet. The mortals may be cherished as pets, disdained as automata, or tormented as playthings at the Empyreans' deranged whim, but all can be cast on the flames in a heartbeat when it serves the goals of the capsuleer. The power of capsule pilots over their terrified crew, their sweating technicians, their serried ranks of administrators and the teeming populations of the stations and planets they rule is complete, unassailable and tyrannical. This is the Empyrean Age.</span></div>
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The game of EVE Online shows us nothing of this; the countless mortals that serve the needs of capsuleers, living cheek-by-jowl alongside them on ships and in stations, are largely invisible in the client. There are whispers of their presence - Exotic Dancers and Militia retrieved from destroyed structures in an idle moment, glinting lights on the night-side of temperate planets - but none are functional, none are relevant, none impinge in any way on the grim game we play among the stars.</div>
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EVE is a game of scale. The moments of "wow" come from a sense of hugeness - the scale of the ships, the size of New Eden - and too often, both client and gameplay struggle to convey that sense of awe at these vast machines in the pitiless depths of space. The mortals who serve our capsuleer characters offer a new way to convey that sense of scale, to create "wow" moments, a shiver of horror as <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/backstory/chronicles/all-these-lives-are-fit-to-ruin-1/" target="_blank">hundreds or thousands of lives are tossed into the void</a>, the moment of chill as we see <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/backstory/chronicles/xenocracy/" target="_blank">what we are doing to the populations</a> and workers on the planets we dominate. Actually interacting with mortals - "as flies to wanton boys" - has the potential to make EVE Online a darker, more compelling experience, to inspire, as we watch our characters' deeds, that elusive shudder of pity, and of terror.</div>
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Two years ago, this would have been pie-in-the-sky thinking. The game was broken in a dozen ways, and addressing those basic flaws was such an overwhelming priority that talk of expanding the game in new directions was quiite sensibly shot down in flames. Now, everything has changed; the last of the glaring problems with the game are being fixed at last, CCP has become far more serious and methodical about strategic development, Incarna is a distant memory; player-built stargates are months, not years away, and thoughts are turning to the long-term future. How might the game grow beyond the roadmap presented by CCP Seagull? How could EVE Online interact with Valkyrie, and (whisper it) Legion? Is it time to decontaminate, at last, the station environment for capsuleer consumption? And where, Otherdamnit, are the baseliners?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478777242939687942.post-46526541514930541192015-02-11T18:52:00.002+00:002015-02-11T18:52:37.868+00:00Tell me why I'm wrong<div>
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So, I'm Cyrillian Voth - an EVE nobody, really; a space dilettante, settled in Providence, flying with <a href="https://gate.eveonline.com/Corporation/Caldari%20Independent%20Navy%20Reserve" target="_blank">CAIN</a> when I get online, and happy to roleplay when I get a chance. I dabble in the game, and wallow in the meta. In real life I train people to teach English as a foreign language, and do various other odd jobs in language and education.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">I'm not an expert on any part of EVE; I just have a thousand ideas about it, many of which are definitely terrible. But I do have an inkling about game design, and I care passionately about making this a better game. More than that, messing around with design principles is how I figure out complex games: "what happens to the game if you change this bit here?" I enjoy the discussions this generates, even when the final answer turns out to be "a nasty mess".</span><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
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So I'm starting this blog to put some of my ideas out there in the hope that they will get shot down. I want to know why it won't work, to examine the unintended consequences, to understand why these ideas would achieve the opposite of what I have in mind. Bring me your <a href="http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=316" target="_blank">(constructive)</a> feedback! Fire away: tell me why I'm wrong.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01065769934196940652noreply@blogger.com0