A Mule in EvE

Archive for the ‘Editorial’ Category

Destruction is the core mechanic in EvE.  Whether mining (rock evaporates when you have mined it out) or Running missions ( destroying the enemies within the mission) or Whether PvP’ing (purty explosions of other peoples ships) EvE is about Destruction, even the industrialists would have little to create without rampant, wonton, heart pounding, blood rushing through you ears, destruction POS come under attack, systems are sieged, guns are arrayed.  Everything about EVE is destruction personified. Or it used to be.

Planetary Interaction, where exactly is the destruction here?  Reduction in capacity I see, the promise of destruction with DUST 514.  Still no destruction from PI, as of yet.

Incarna, where is the destruction here?  Who knows.  For the denizens of EVE aside from destruction the only thing I can think of that will draw these players inside a station ( beyond the initial novelty, which might be intriguing) is sex, but the we risk the “second life” in space syndrome.  As much as I like both these things ( being a guy after all I do know the true nature of men, and a few unabashed women) sex and destruction, I play a game to blow stuff up.  Not to go hide in a station and have virtual sex with some pixels on a  screen. So, what else is going to draw me?  No, there will be no combat.  Do not get me wrong I like architecture, and the various other things there might be to see. I would love to see ships undocking from a spaceport too.  I just do not know what the hell else I would do in a station.  Will Incarna let me setup a shop to sell stuff to more people?  exactly which stations can we go in with 7000 systems (give or take) and just 2 station per system, means 14,000 stations divided by 60,000 users mean it will be like exploring a ghost town of some sort.  If EVERYONE in eve during peak concurrence all go to 1 station that will mean 4 people per station (and this is just rough math) One concern is that it will be in Empire space and there is simply no reason for me to ever go there.  Occasionally I will grab skill I do not have or something but what else would be the draw?

DUST 514 will require a console, I do not like, nor generally play console games, I like the more strategic/ tactical thinking and while this IS destruction, because it is on a console I won’t play it.

Surely the Environment in EVE is going to change.  Then scope of the change is the only unknown. How those changes will affect the EvE environment we can only guess.

I have been thinking a great deal about CSM stuff.  Yes it is Mynxee‘s fault

Actually I have read every press release about the CSM, I read their blog s and try to understand how I would be reacting.  I try,  as without being involved there is no way in hell I could even imagine the experience.

I am trying to understand how myself as a person who voted in every CSM election can stay motivated?  I have yet to see major impact by them, after reading as much as I have about them it clearly is not the lack of ideas.  Some ideas I disagree with, others I think are great. Do CCP decision makers just not want alter their plan? Clearly many people there like and appreciate input yet very little gets done. Recently, CCP raised MY expectations that ideas brought forth by the CSM would bear some (if any ) fruit, by making them a “stakeholder” in terms of Agile development, or just having a formal place within CCP. To date, based on reports, I have read in the last 2 years there has been a lot of promises and very little delivery.

Let me know if I have fallen off the turnip truck here ok?

The Good

• CCP actually wants to know what we think via our representatives
• CCP hears what many on the CSM have said, lots of nodding at the right spots.
• CCP has enacted some of the CSM ideas (the skill points thing was supposedly a joint idea)
• The minutes/logs /information from the  CSM1-5  have gotten 100% better than when they started.  The CSM1 had to start from scratch so this is no hidden ‘dig’ at them.
• CCP raised their status by making them stakeholders.

The Marginal

• The good to come out of the CSM seems to take 12-36 months
• The information they release to the CSM seems HIGHLY valuable ( Larkonis-gate {CSM3}) so it seems to be open for abuse.

The Bad

• What large thing can the CSM point to and say ” that was us?”  None, that I know of…maybe the 100,000 skill point increase.
• CCP has failed to actually listen ( an active listening, not just the nodding at the right spots)
• CCP asked for input,  then seem to have either set aside things as not able to do, not important to the “vision” or  not important/ forgotten.
• In the latest CSM summit the word has come down that there are no development cycles for the next YEAR! Even for fixing all the various lists of problems that people have. Most of the representatives were ELECTED for this very purpose!
• Even though they (CSM5)  are stakeholders, they control nothing, they can expect nothing, they set no priorities, they have no “pull”.

I am not badmouthing CCP here, nor am I badmouthing the CSM 1-5.  CCP asked for input and clearly they have gotten an earful, but no matter who says it they seem to not alter course, nor focus on fixing things.  Frankly, we are better informed about the fact that we cannot do anything except experience this game as it comes. I can only applaud CCP and the CSM reps for working hard. Show us some of their work CCP!

I am not saying to halt the CSM nor the summit’s but compiling lists of stuff to fix is worthless if they will not actually “fix” it.

For clarity sake lets list what the CSM 4 wanted to fix:

2.1. Alliance Logos FIXED
2.3. Black Ops Improvements CSM 1 raised this  and some thing was buffed
2.4. FW complex NPCs and standings
2.5. FW Complex Spawning Issues
2.7. Docking games fix
2.9. Titan bridge range
2.10. Direct scan improvement
2.11. Logistics Ship Warp Speed
2.12. Modular Starbase
2.13. Shared Corporation Bookmarks
2.14. Watch list & broadcasts
2.15. Broadcast “In position” improvement
2.16.1. Self-destruct revokes insurance
2.16.2. Self-destruct generates killmail
2.16.4. Self-destruct timer depends on shipsize
3.1. Alliance action confirmation windows
3.3. Mining crystals change color of mining laser beam
3.4. Ingame Events Menu
3.7. Forum Censorship
3.8.1. Buffs to the EOS
3.8.2. Looking into Fleet links and possible fix
3.9. Battle Recorder
3.10. Tracking for Fighters lost in combat
3.11. Destroyer Improvements
3.14. Put More Faction Items On Market
3.15. Suicide Ganking Discussion
4.1. Overhaul of roles and grantable roles system
4.2. Kill mail Fixes
4.4. FW – CCP Inaction Towards Bugs/Exploits
4.5. FW – Lack of Development Part 2
4.6. Account Security Enhancements
4.7. Scan-able wrecks and containers for the salvager profession
5.3. T3 Refitting inside Wspace
5.4. ORE Faction Control Tower
5.5. Tradable and Subscribable BlockLists (Version 2)
5.6. Add scan probes to overview
6.1. More control over medals
6.2. Tower under Attack Mails to POS Gunners
6.3. Increase forum signature file size limit
6.4. Reconnect to lost drones
6.5. Increasing fleet size
6.6. In-Game Account Expiration Countdown
7.1. Save and Reuse Probe Bubble Patterns
7.2. Sorting Deliveries
7.3. Neuts/NOS on Overview
7.4. Ship Active Tank Bonus Buff
7.5. Allow naming any ship in your hanger
7.6. Align To Bookmarks
7.8. Localise the CSM Output
8.1. Improve POS missile batteries
8.2. AFK Button     Already raised by previous CSM
8.3. Allow reactivation of accidentally deactivated module
8.4. Distinguish between afterburners and microwarpdrives with different icons
8.5. Eve font changes – Progress requested
8.6. Sound issues
8.7. Issue when Copying and pasting links in Chat
8.8. Development Assessment List
9.1. Experimental Gallente storyline missions
9.2. End ghost (unpaid account) datacore production
9.3. Sources of Mineral Investigation
9.4. Contract Login Update Notification
9.5. View ship fittings in hanger without boarding ship
10.2. Show damaged drones in drone bay
10.4. Improvements to the F11 navigation panel

So in this huge list of things 2 things were addressed ( do not get me wrong I do not agree with all of these)  BUT 2 3 (thanks for the correction)of 65 items?  This was from CSM 4 I did not look at 1,2 or 3.

What do you all think?

Those times when we scurry about trying to get all the little loose ends tied up, this is the “in between”.  Unlike many games there is always enough ( some say too much) of little things that need to be done , yet take an inordinate about of time to do.

Gear strewn out all over the place.  Clones in systems no longer useful as they once had been.  Moving all this takes time, and the actual effort to do so.

As with most years past the time between July 1 and August 1 in EvE seems to drag inexorably on.  I do not like the slow times except that it offers me time enough to go and take care of all those little meddling things mentioned above.

Irritation doesn’t really begin to describe my feelings, somewhat disheartened with CCP.  It is not anyone’s fault, I am just wondering if there will be anything I can look forward to with either Dust 514 or with Incarna.  Try as I might there is not. Yes I have been a little mopey n such, I do not like summer, I do not enjoy the slow times as much as perhaps I should.

Nice model on the Primae, useless as tits on a boarhog for most things, and irritating that I MUST go to empire to get it yet the model does have phenomenal details and holds promise for a new class of ships (if we get any)

Seems I need to alter my PI setup , at the rate I am running it I will not be able to produce more POS fuel than might be used ina  month, which, well kinda sucks ass.

For petes sake I cannot escape the grumpiness of it all.

Maybe I will go and take a vacation

Better days lie ahead!

TC and Good Hunting!