Ecliptic Rift

Not only have the Sansha threatened the world, but other capsuleers have evidently lost their minds. I don’t want to get in the middle of the fighting, as I can think of lots of other ways to do well by doing good.

So I’m moving as much of my staff as I can out of the Republic. Some administrative functions will stay at the Ecliptic Rift corporate headquarters in Larkugei and others handling our remaining trade business in Rens and Hek, but they have strict instructions not to go planetside under any circumstances.

The rest of us will head to lowsec in Derelik. With much lower population levels in the Ammatar Mandate, the threat seems lowered despite the Nation’s extensive activity in the area. In fact, I intend to focus heavily on intel gathering and information warfare operations against their installations out there. This also keeps us close to Curse and the Angel Cartel. Nation won’t tangle with them too much, I expect. The Dominations will react with substantially greater ferocity than the weak CONCORD-affiliated nations, and possibly they can lend a hand with any Sansha tech my research staff can’t handle.

Now I need to go talk to Mom and get her to come with me from Eram. We’ve not spoken in some time, since that White Rose Society mess, so I can just imagine how it will go. Damn it.

As a fan of the EVE background / lore (aka “Prime Fiction”), and a wannabe member of the CCP Ginger Army (though not an actual ginger IRL), I loved seeing his post on revamping corporation descriptions.

Eifyr in particular has always fascinated me, largely due to their connection to cybernetic implants and booster manufacturing. The connection to the Krusual tribe caught me off-guard, though, as they only have stations in Eram, the Sebiestor tribal headquarters, and Elgoi, a neighboring system.

I understand some of the Caldari players have simultaneous reservations and excitement about some of the updates there, but I haven’t yet delved into everything there.

We frequently see corp or alliance identities in EVE revolving around larger factions. The Amarr have CVA, the Minmatar have Electus Matari and Ushra’khan, not to mention innumerable militias in factional warfare for all four of the primary factions. Smaller, interesting factions (Angels, Thukkers, Intaki, Sansha etc) also inspire a number of corporations and even alliances.

I know, we already have the NPC corporation, but nearly everybody in EVE knows why NPC corps stink. I don’t know whether bloodline NPC corps obviate any need for (or interest in) player-managed bloodline corps, and that could present an issue. But what would a player Sebiestor tribe corp look like? First, the bloodline description:

Widely respected as being among the most innovative thinkers of the cluster, the Sebiestor are an ingenious people with a natural fondness for engineering. For the last millennium, they have been pioneering advances in applied sciences despite laboring under chronic material shortages. Sebiestor engineers believe they can build anything, with anything, out of anything. Veritable masters of deriving solutions from impossible circumstances, they are most commonly found working in shipyards, assembly lines, terraforming projects, outpost construction, and aboard starships.

So maybe this hypothetical group could take the form of an industrial corp, based near Eram (the tribal HQ system)? Manufacturing and invention, in particular, make sense for Sebiestor pilots, and perhaps reverse engineering to support strategic cruiser production. Pilots could also participate in mission running, especially with the aim of gaining high standings with the tribe and perhaps the Minmatar Republic itself. The corp’s industrial focus could even turn to supporting the war effort by providing supplies and equipment to militia corps working with the Tribal Liberation Force in Metropolis. Alternately, salvaging, trading, and smuggling seem to fit the feel of a hard-scrabble, inventive group that turns junk into the most advances devices humanity has ever known…

This thinking doesn’t necessarily mean I’d leave the Back Alley Trading Company, of course. Right now, I’m just thinking out loud and musing on ideas, since I have always loved planning corp or guild concepts and organization in every MMOG I’ve ever played or even closely examined. This particular concept has a lot appeal for me, no doubt, but I have to weigh that against all the other concepts and game play that interest me. On the other hand, I wouldn’t quite rule it out, either.

Also, this marks my 200th post on Ecliptic Rift. My geek identity means I really look forward to the 256th post more, though…

Avelle talked some sense into me. Why should I let my mother drive me away from my business relationships and the work I’m doing with Eifyr? So I’m back in Eram for now.

Just as importantly, if not more so, we bounced a lot of ideas back and forth regarding what technology can do for the Dream. Things like data distribution models, research methodologies for very large populations, and the implications of quantitative analysis of culture-wide dream states. Fun stuff; I really need to review my notes.

I didn’t know it, but evidently rumors abound of the Serpentis getting involved in black cyber implant research. I tracked down a few of their facilities, and found one spectacular battle station (image above). Despite a few dicey moments inside, I made it to the com tower. Nothing useful, however, and they managed to drive me away before I could check out some of the ancillary facilities. Other facilities had more data, and the analysis continues. The prisoners I picked up might have some useful data on future plans, too.

This feels like something worth pursuing, after all. Time to get some research done and see where else I may be able to learn a bit about this group.