Gate to Gate: Make New Eden Big Again.

I have said before that New Eden is big. How big? Well there are more than 5328 systems that players can go. The cluster more than 106 light years long, 90 light years wide and 25 light years thick. It is an impressive thing, but yet it feels so small. In a matter of minutes one group be in Fountain, and then in Providence, two regions of space, that do not even share stargates.  From their throne in Delekin, in similar time Goonswarm can travel form Delve to support other members of the CFC and from the Heitmatar region Pandemic Legion can spring on nearly any unsuspecting carrier or capital ship fleet. In the blink of an eye 1000 man fleets are moved from on side of a space to the other. And with the creation of coalitions EVE is no longer the large sandbox for children, but instead has become a group of teenagers in a small playpen.  What I'm thinking about is a way to make the game healthier and to increase the size of the sandbox.

Death to Jump Bridges: 

First I would completely remove Jump Bridges from the game. While the idea of a Jump Bridge is good, it has created an unhealthy product in  the game where large alliances and coalitions only require Military might and have no need for their own industrial backbone. Because of the ease that Jump Bridges have made shipping large amount of goods from Highsec to Nullsec, there is little to no industry in Null. This is because HighSec care-bears and industrialist are willing to make large amounts of ships and modules with sometimes less than 4% profit. This is super cheap, and makes it cheaper for null to ship goods from high to null, than to invest in industry.
One thing that I think is interesting is when people say to to fix null that it needs to be more "farms and fields" style of ownership. But they are unwilling to do the nerfs and buffs that required to to do so. If the end goal of a Nullsec revamp is "farms and fields" then we have to look at a wide ranges of nerfs and buffs. Killing Jump Bridges is a start in that direction. Farmer and Fields will never be achieved with jump bridges in the game, because it is too easy to move ships and goods from High sec to Null.

Nerf Jump Distances:
While I think that Jump Bridges have no place in the game, Jumping from system to system does. that said, it allows for ridiculous force projection in the game. I feel that all jump ranges should be hard capped at 3 light years for military or combat hulls, Titans, Dreadnoughts, Super-Carriers, and Carriers, while Jump Freighters and Roquloas are limited to 2.5 light years. I feel that is still as long enough range give cap ships the range to attack as support, while not becoming a main vanguard.
Jump Freighters do have a role and still should be used, but while their massive range and how far they transport goods, they need to get nerf and I'd give them a bit of a buff. First I'd give them buff that they could hull 75% more than what they are currently hulling. This will still allow for specialty items to be jumped into Null and Low, but this buff in cargo comes at a 50% reduction in how far they can jump. What this will do is put the JF in danger more and making it a greater risk to be destroyed and start to give Nullsec a reason to form industrial backbones.

Make Space Big:
Space is big and it should feel big in New Eden. Not only should it feel big but it should feel hard to control. As it stands right now in null one fully upgraded system can only support 10-15 pilots. This while High Sec mission hubs can support 100s of pilots. Is it no wonder that people stay in High Sec to make isk. there should be little penalties to living in null, in fact it should be seen a preferable to High Sec. Their should be more ways to make isk in null than in High. This mean that null needs a major buff. well major is the wrong the wrong word, it needs a SUPER buff.
First allow for Null sec station to "hire" mission agents. While they can't have LP stores, Sov holding alliance should be able hire an agent that can give tasks to those living out there. These agents should range form level 1-5 can allow for a 100% mark up. These agents will only be in station systems and could increase the number pilots able to live in a system to near infinite. These agents like I said should cost ISK cause after all you can't make money with out spending money.

Agent Level	First Cost	Monthly Fee
Level 1	500,000,000	250,000,000
Level 2	1,000,000,000	500,000,000
Level 3	1,500,000,000	750,000,000
Level 4	2,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Level 5	2,500,000,000	1.250,000,000

Possible cost of Agent Hiring
Second is I would decrease the time to the rat, complex and DoD site re-spawn.  These should re-spawn fast enough and in large enough quantity that it could support each could support 10-15 pilots. These means at any given time there should be 10 pirate complexes, ten DoD sites, and rats every 5-10 minutes in the belts at station, PoCo and Stargates. While I you hold off on increase the amount of ISK per-kill on rats, I think that they should happen fast enough that belts can support several pilots ratting at the same time in the same system.
Last buff Nullsec's industrial out put. Stations in null don't have to be better that highsec stations, but they shouldn't be as different as they are now. If anything a fully upgraded station should be 95% of a HighSec Station of the same class. If we really want NullSec to be "farmers and fields" then Null Industrial needs to worth doing. While it won't quite be at HighSec levels it will be at a point Miners and Industrials still well be about to turn a profit from such task.

Holding Space should be Hard:

My idea for fixing sov is not terribly new, but I feel that it would be better for small gangs while allowing for possibilities or large scale epic fights. I'm not going say that SOV needs to be like Facwar, cause though I'm in FacWar, I don't see that as a conflict driver for Null. Instead I'd call for removal of Sovereignty Blocker Units and that the Hit Points on TCU is cut to 1.2 million and giving a 2 hour Re-Enforce Timer.

 The biggest thing that I here complaint that hear coming from Nullsec is the Sov Grind. That there are too many structure.  While the concept Sov Blockers is good, what it had turned EVE into is a game of grinding structures. This endless grind has burnt out more players than any other reason in New Eden. It also prevents Small groups from competing in the SOV game. While in the short term it was okay, Long term it created the rise of massive coalitions claiming 1/3 of space with no real out side threats.
Holding Space should be hard. Not just for small groups, but for large groups as well.  The TCU as it stands is basically a giant Flag. Small roaming fleets of say  25 destroys, should be able to fly out to space and knock the flag down. This well require large Sov Blocs to send out patrols to police their area. Every system without  iHubs will fall quickly it, now is out there protecting their space.
iHubs will continue with the same amount of hit points, but with one major change. They now require fuel to remain online. The more they are upgraded the more fuel they well require.(example)

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Fuel/Day	500 units	1500 units	4500 units	13500 units	40500 units

Now I would give them a fuel bay this large enough to support a Level 5 iHub for 30 days, but this since it scales down this means that a fully loaded level 1 iHub can last for every months.  Last I would shift the iHubs timers from 28-34 hours to 20-26 hours. If the fuel bay is empty then just like a POS tower there is no timer and the system can be taken quickly.
My idea is that to hold SOV, you have to be more active in that space than just paying a rent fee. You have to be willing to patrol that space, fuel it, and defend from the hordes. Now some will argue that these changes well make it impossible for call groups to hold space. And I agree it will be hard, as it should be. But while it is hard to hold, space will be easier for all groups to take. Right now that is what is wrong with SOV, it is too easy to hold too hard to take. It needs to be flipped to so that more groups have a chance to get into the SOV game or at least be able to mess with those that are.

Please leave a comment, with your ideas or some additions to mine. While I admit i'm not a master at SOV, I do see that it needs some changes.

EVE: True Stories 1

DarkHorse released the first installment of it's EVE online graphic novel series, EVE: True Stories. These were talked about last year at fanfest as a way to bring more people into the game and help people understand the eve universe. What sets EVE: True Stories apart from other graphic novels is that all the stories are not fiction. I almost call them Historical Fiction. All the personalities the locations and the events are real in the EVE Online Universe.  

True Stories 1 is based on the Alexander Gianturco or The Mittani as he is more commonly known, story of the fall of Band of Brothers. It is a 4 part story that looks at Haargoth Agmar and his role in bringing the once greatest alliance in EVE to it's knees.

As far a graphic novels go this is one of the shortest one I have read, only 17 pages. But while it was short, it was enjoyable for the EVE fan. I'm not sure how people who do not plat the game will feel about it. But so far I have seen good reviews to it. What I enjoy most about it is that you can tell what ships are what. It was fun for me saying, there is a Arazu and look that the Wolf.

I am glad that the author and inker took some liberties on the combat and how it looked, though I fear that people that never played the game before will be sadden when it doesn't meet the expectation. The Dialogue is good, and while not the standard in EVE, it does give it a better feel that just local or fleet chat logs. But that said, I'd love to see in next parts, some of the EVEmails sent from Goonswarm to Haargoth. I think that would really bring this story home to those of us that remember The Fall. 

Full Circle: The War Eagle raises its head.

We have come full circle my friends. We have seen the best that enemy could field and we held. They pushed for warzone control but we held. They pushed for Tier 5, but we held. They came at us from all side but we held. We stood our ground. We meet swords with shields. Our Atrons and Kestrels littered battlefields. They attacked our will but we held on. Their greatness strength, became their weakness. Their blob became slow and weak, while our gangs became fast and strong. They wanted new FC's, but none ever came, while we gained new heroes and old legends came back to fight. They became predictable flame, while we became wildfire. They saw that a even a wounded eagle could fight when cornered. Now we strong, now our claws are sharpened, now we will let out our war cries and push the vial Squids back.
Five months ago a Dinosaur of Null came to roam to our lands. While we held on to key systems, it went on a rampage. The Dinosaur is why they took systems and conquered much of Black Rise and Placid. But it was truly never a Squid. As I said then the Dinosaur would give them hope. It would bring life back to the dying husk that was Caldari Militia. While the fights were good, and it gave us a chance to sharpen our doctrines and strengthen our FC's, we knew that one day the Dinosaur would leave and head back to its Null Sec hunting grounds.
The true squids rode its back proclaiming that we were beat; we watched. We went back to our fortresses egging the Dinosaur on. In Nisuwa we held their advances. In Hallanen we watched as their fleets died to our suicide bombers. Then like when Ev0ke came from the Null Lands, we challenged them in Eha, turning it into our Helmsdeep. We watched as they came to break our wills, only to be turned way. Soon the Dinosaur shook off its rider as it heard a familiar call. It turned its head and roamed back to lands from which it came. After giving them hope, it abandoned them.
Now they sit in their stations, like old vets, remembering the past. They pretend that they were conquers, while never leaving 5k from a station. While on the back on the Dinosaurs they touched the sky, and began to think that they ruled it. But a Squid can never sore with Eagles. And it is time to show them that it is in fact the Eagles rule the skies of  Placid and Black Rise.
And so we have came full circle. We are back at the beginning, before the Dinosaur came. Both armada sit in tier one, struggling to gain a foothold. But our armada is no longer in shambles. It is no longer crippled by the farmer plague. Though we have lost many ships, our claws have never been sharper. Now it the time that put down our shields and and leave our fortresses. It is time for us to  pick up our swords. Now it is the time for the Eagle to raise its head and remind all of New Eden of the justice and freedom that is stands for.

Fly Safe #21

When doing captial ship operations, triple check your fuel bay. Make sure that you have enough fuel for the trip and a jump out. Nothing is worse than not being able to jump once a operation is over.

Never Pheed the Troll: Now with Disqus

I have updated the comments of the blog by adding Disqus to the comments sections. Now it is easier than ever before to leave comments on the Blog.  I hope that many of you enjoy this new feature and use it. Thanks again for reading.

What ship is that?: Interbus Ship Identification System

Look at all these ships!!!

My Amarr Ship Tree. 

One of the draws of EVE when I first started playing was all the ships that it had.  I saw my friends playing and talking about all these different ships and I remember thinking, " I want to fly them all. As I started learning the ropes of the game I saw that it was going to be much easier said than done because hey there are a love of ship in New Eden. How many you ask? There are 277 different ship hulls in EVE with 228 of them being able to flown by player characters. That is why I love the Interbus Ship Identification system because it shows all the different ships in the game, and with the Mastery System it shows you, your level at piloting the ship.

My Gallente Ship Tree.

If we compare these first two pictures we are looking at both my Amarr and my Gallente ship trees. I was impressed by my Amarr tree to be honest, because it showed I was closer that I thought to flying other ships. If we look at me Gallente we can see I can fly all Gallente SubCap ships outside Interdictors and Black ops . I also noted that I have must of them at level IV mastery only missing out a few certificates. I did a skill plan and found that I'm only 104 days out from mastering 85% of the subcap ships to V. I have a new goal cause like I said, I'm a sucker for this type of thing.

Cool ship, but what does it do?

Navy Comet Line

With the introduction of Teircide, (the ship rebalancing that CCP has been doing the past two years) one the things they often talked about was ship lines. Theses were supposed to groups of ships that all fit into the same classification. Such as the Navitas is a T1 frigate but is it part of the the support line of ships, that includes, Exequrors, Oneiros and the Nyx supercapital, as well as the Inquisitor and (in)famous Guardian.
With over 228 ships it can become overwhelming trying to know them all and their traits. This where the ISIS comes in. if you hold your mouse over a ship you can little blue boxes above it. This boxes give you the traits of that ships. If we look at the Navy Comet then we can see it uses small weapons, it's a combat ship, meaning it is used for frontline brawling.  It's main weapon system are Hybrid turrets. Last that it uses armor tanking for its main defense.

Phobos Line

If compare the Comet to a tech Cruiser hull such as the Phobos, we are able to see how this lines come together and cross. First we can see that the Phobos uses Medium Turrets. The circle after that shows that it's main purpose is not brawling combat like the Comet, but is Tackle for large fleets. It uses Medium Hybrid turrets as it's main weapon system and like the Comet it is mostly armored tanked. The last box shows that is uses a warp prevention system, interdiction bubbles.
Quickly looking at ISIS we see that both the Comet and Phobos share some groups of skills both are turret ships, both are armor, both use hybrids. In this way they both share some lines of training. But we need to look at one more ship if you want to see a full ship expressed.

Deimos Line

Where the Phobos and Comet only shared three lines, the Deimos are line members. They both are Brawling combat armor ships that use hybrid weapon system. Using ISIS we are able to see that if we are looking for a tech II Cruiser that uses the support skills we use for the Comet, then the Deimos is a good choice for us. This give us a clear line of what skills we need to train at each step to prove to our next system.
While ISIS and the ship Mastery System are not huge game changers in New Eden, I feel they are two of the cooler systems in the game and are only going to improve over all immersion in the game.

I don't often do this, but what new feature in Rubicon do you like most and why? Leave a comment below.

Crossing into Rubicon: New Mastery System.

I think that my favorite thing so far in the Rubicon expansion is the ship mastery system and the revamp of the certificate system. I am a sucker for this kind of things anyways, but in my opinion CCP as really flushed out whole system to improve gameplay for both new and old players. It is very clear and simple to understand and it does does not take much work to access it. in the old certificate system it was easier to use a third party system than the game to look at them. This new system under the show info tab and just players a better idea what skills they really need to fly ships.

If we look at the Incursus we can see that I have ship mastery to four. I have all the skills needed to fly the ship at a decent level. If you have read my skill training blog you can recognize some of the certificates on this page. A few new ones are the Gallente Target Management and Tackling certificate. Target Management is looking at you ability to target hostile ships as well as your ability to use ECCM. The Tackling certificate is taking in account your ability to use warp scrams, disputers and webifiers. The rest of them are the same as they were.
If you are new to EVE, I suggest that you train the skills for Armor tanking, Core ship, Tackling and navigation to their level 4 requirements as soon as you can, because they will be used for other ships and are not racial skills such as turrets and missiles.

Now if we look at the level V mastery we can see that I still need to acquire Target Management, Navigation, and Small Hybrid turrets skills to reach full mastery of the Incrusus. If I click on the certificates I can see each skill needed for lvl 5 mastery and even add time to my skill queue from that tab.
While I haven't played around with all the features the Rubicon has came out with, this one is becoming my favorite as it is showing me that even with my skill planning and different skill list, I have several holes and gaps with many of my ships. over the next few months I'm going to keep using the mastery system to close those gaps and fill in those holes on my ships to give me a larger edge in combat.
As a CEO this also is great skill so that can get new pilots into ships faster and they can have the plan for flying that ship at their finger tips in game.