Dominion 1.1 patch notes review

So CCP have released the patch notes for Dominion 1.1. Thought I’d muse on a few that caught my eye, which don’t include capital ships simply because they don’t (currently) affect me in any meaningful way. My comments in double parentheses.

Voice fonts have now been added to EVE Voice. This new feature will allow you to alter your voice during chat to increase or lower pitch or to change from male to female voices. This is certainly not going to be abused in any way. ((RAWR!))

The Laboratory Operation Skill can no longer be trained by characters on trial accounts. ((Too bad, but I do get why they needed to do this.))

Deadspace areas now correctly spawn in the same solar system for the mission “Portal to War.” ((That always confused me. Tiny change but a welcome one.))

New wallet API functions have been added. ((Anybody know what that’s about?))

Heavy ships will now properly align themselves towards their warp destination so no more warping sideways or backwards. ((I think they explained this in a slightly confusing way but I’ll wait to see it on TQ before I comment further.))

Extra URL validation has been added to the in-game browser when adding sites to the Trusted/Ignored list. ((Good, but they might have waited to include this note until after deployment.))

CCP Tuxford can no longer shut down TQ on a whim. ((CCP sounds like a great bunch of folks who have fun working together, heh.))

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January 20th, 2010 | Casiella Truza | Tags: API, Capital Ships, CCP Tuxford, Deadspace, Dominion, Missions, Patch Notes, Portal to War, Research, Voice fonts.
Categories: OOC | Comments: Comments

Lost my Typhoon already

While finishing up a mission in Frarn in my new Typhoon, I saw a salvager show up on my overview. No worries, I don’t mind. He does his thing, I do mine, and neither of us can complain. He flew a Malediction and seemed to know his business. We didn’t talk much, but I suppose that particular relationship doesn’t require a lot of communication.

As I got close to finishing the mission, another salvager showed up in a Vexor. Except he also looted my stuff and went flashy. Figuring I could handle a cruiser with my own drones, I opened fire upon him.

Bad move. The Vexor wasn’t too much trouble by himself, but with endless Amarrian battleships trying to tear large chunks out of my armor, he eventually wore me down. I couldn’t get away and I couldn’t work through his own armor. He had a Myrmidon friend there who also looted, but I chose not to fire upon him, figuring that would not lead to good things. (Not that this worked out a lot better, heh.)

Eh, live and learn. Check for possible backup and don’t engage another pod pilot when you’re already under heavy fire from NPCs.

(I’ll update with a killmail later.)

Avoiding suicide ganks

So Hulkageddon II has fallen upon us. I won’t go into all the controversy over Hitler and colon cancer, but suffice it to say that some folks really don’t like the concept.

I have some advice for these folks. No, not “seek professional help”. I recognize that few of them are invoking Godwin’s Law or Matthew 5:21-22, though the ones doing the name-calling really should know better.

In addition to “fit your ship properly” and “don’t mine AFK”, try this: “don’t mine in belts.”

Mining doesn’t have to happen in planetary asteroid belts, you know. It works just as well any place you can find asteroids. For example, we have asteroid belts available via exploration (gravimetric sites). High-sec grav sites don’t get a lot of attention, but if you want to shoot at rocks, suck them dry, and stay under the radar, they’ll work fine.

You can also go out and mine in missions. I don’t mean those terrible abominations of “mining missions“, but regular agent-assigned combat missions with lots of rocks in the deadspace pockets.

Maybe these options take a little more preparation and organization, but they sure beat replacing a 200m ISK ship and the associated equipment, don’t they? Seriously, try them. You might have some fun and you won’t have to risk your mental, emotional, or spiritual health to do so.

On the addiction of missions

First, I just wanted standings for perfect refines. This made sense given my playstyle and skills. Then I realized that I already had decent standings with a R&D corp, so I could also get research agent access. So I pushed on and got my standings nearly to 7 with Core Complexion Inc.

After that, I decided to get sufficient standings with the Brutor tribe to talk to the agent that starts the epic arc. Easy enough, I told myself. Well, that  certainly proved true.

Then I decided to get another jump clone without using EACS (which requires changing corps). The next thing I know, I’ve started to ask alliance mates if they want to run level 5 missions…

The next thing I know, I’ve descended back into the ease of my old lifestyle and missioning like crazy. Agent work generally doesn’t require too much energy given an appropriately built ship. And it keeps the ISK flowing when the markets don’t behave or manufacturing and research jobs haven’t completed.

But I don’t think this really fulfills my goals as a pilot. The arc here matches a drug or other addiction pretty closely. Now to figure out what I should really do next…

Help me build a mission Typhoon

I admit that I don’t know from battleship fitting, and the Typhoon revamp should obsolete the specific details of previous guides. So as I start to build a mission Typhoon, I’ve found that fitting it presents more challenges than I expected. Please tell me where I’ve gone wrong and how I can fit something useful (preferably artillery) in the spare highs.

[Typhoon, MissionsInProgress]
Large Armor Repairer II
Large Armor Repairer II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Armor Explosive Hardener I
Armor Kinetic Hardener I
Ballistic Control System II

Sensor Booster I, Targeting Range
Large Capacitor Battery II
Large Capacitor Battery II
100MN Afterburner II

'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Devastator Cruise Missile
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Devastator Cruise Missile
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Devastator Cruise Missile
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Devastator Cruise Missile
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Devastator Cruise Missile
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
Drone Link Augmentor I

[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]

Berserker x5
Warrior II x5
Hobgoblin II x5

Level 5 Agent Grid

Earlier I wanted to find an actual list of level 5 agents. EVE Agents contains outdated data that includes agents who never actually became available, so instead I took the data from EVE Missions and put it into a Google Docs spreadsheet. All agents are L5 Q12, so you need effective standings of 8.6 to get mission offers.

system	corporation	level	quality	security
Kenahehab	Amarr Navy	5	12	0.23
Sahtogas	Amarr Navy	5	12	0.28
Nalnifan	Amarr Navy	5	12	0.29
Faspera	Ammatar Fleet	5	12	0.13
Uzistoon	Ammatar Fleet	5	12	0.39
Auga	Brutor tribe	5	12	0.39
Amamake	Brutor tribe	5	12	0.44
Hakonen	Caldari Navy	5	12	0.3
Otsasai	Caldari Navy	5	12	0.35
Hallanen	Caldari Navy	5	12	0.36
Manjonakko	Corporate Police Force	5	12	0.33
Ohkunen	Corporate Police Force	5	12	0.38
Hysera	Corporate Police Force	5	12	0.4
Aeschee	Federal Intelligence Office	5	12	0.16
Reynire	Federation Customs	5	12	0.16
Pelille	Federation Customs	5	12	0.21
Thelan	Federation Customs	5	12	0.23
Murethand	Federation Customs	5	12	0.29
Barleguet	Federation Navy	5	12	0.07
Aulbres	Federation Navy	5	12	0.14
Uphallant	Federation Navy	5	12	0.21
Iges	Federation Navy	5	12	0.35
Nannaras	Ishukone Watch	5	12	0.39
Tamo	Lai Dai Protection Service	5	12	0.34
Chej	Ministry of Internal Order	5	12	0.28
Ned	Ministry of War	5	12	0.18
Vehan	Ministry of War	5	12	0.37
Maila	Peace and Order Unit	5	12	0.44
Helgatild	Republic Fleet	5	12	0.15
Istodard	Republic Fleet	5	12	0.29
Klingt	Republic Fleet	5	12	0.3
Auga	Republic Fleet	5	12	0.39
Auner	Republic Fleet	5	12	0.41
Onatoh	Republic Security Services	5	12	0.3
Gulmorogod	Republic Security Services	5	12	0.38
Floseswin	Republic Security Services	5	12	0.4
Nandeza	Royal Khanid Navy	5	12	0.25
Arzieh	Royal Khanid Navy	5	12	0.3
Nalvula	Spacelane Patrol	5	12	0.39

Image credit perfect_hexagon

Scattershooting suggestions

Sitting in a coffeehouse while my wife gets her nails done next door, I thought I’d post a few idle suggestions here for any feedback I might get before I go post on the official forum.

• Standings API. I’d like to see API methods to return standings for a character and corporation. Ideally, you could request standings for other characters as well (so that, for example, a CEO can check corp members’ standings).
• Salvage drones. An idea that has floated around for years and should pretty much explain itself.
• Epic arcs with more branches. Great, the writers have a new tool available to them. Let’s use it for arcs with a lot more choices than just one or two points. Shades of grey, and all that. Right now, they basically look like a new flavor of storyline missions, without the sort of immersiveness and avenues for character choices I’d like to see.
• Portrait changes for ISK. Since I can pay for my game time with ISK now, I’d like to pay for portrait changes (and possibly character transfers) with ISK as well. Could be indexed to PLEX market value, maybe. Other account services could get included, though nothing else occurs to me at the moment.
• Miniprofession minigames. We’d enjoy the miniprofessions (hacking, archaeology, and salvaging) even more if they required something other than “target can and activate module, wait until it succeeds”. Logic puzzles, maybe, but nothing too twitchy in my EVE, please.
• Personal deadspace structures. This has also floated around for a while. Anchorable personal structures, somewhat like containers, but with more art available (like the deadspace environments we see in missions and exploration complexes), possibly with small ship bays or something. They probably should not include any sort of industrial structures, as those should remain at starbases. I’d like to see them very difficult or impossible to scan down, though of course a pilot sitting at one would show up under current normal scanning mechanisms.

Which of these ideas interest you? Do any of them suck? Do they need tweaks before I go posting in Features and Ideas? What have I missed?

Image credit Stuck in Customs

Dominion patch notes review

I’ve taken several days off of EVE Online to enjoy some time with my family and loved ones (plus, oddly, a lot of work). However, CCP have released the Dominion patch notes so I thought I’d take a few moments to review some welcome surprises (and reminders) found within! In general, this post will address little bits of the expansion that haven’t already received lots of attention, so no talk about sovereignty and factional ships and such.

And post a comment about your favorite bits!

(more…)

EVE Blog Banter 13: FW Epic Arcs

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

The first banter of this 2nd year of EVE Blog Banters comes to us fromZargyl from A Sebiestor Scholar, who asked the following: On the EVE Fanfest 2009 page are pictures of prizes for the Silent Auction that was held during the event. One of these photos was entitled “Design your own EVE mission”. My question now would be what kind of mission would you write if you got that prize? What would the mission be about? Would it be one using the new system of epic mission arcs? What would be the story told by it? Feel free to expand upon his questions and put together your very own mission!

Way late to the game on this, I know. So I’ll just hit the high points:

Factional Warfare epic arcs would provide additional opportunities for PVP. Essentially, while in the mission, a message would be broadcast in local for all systems in the same constellation (since nobody uses Constellation chat, unfortunately). Additionally, the storylines for each “theater” link together in ways that don’t break immersion when the arcs get repeated by multiple pilots. The missions should have high-end level 3 difficulty. As examples:

• Amarr: The 24th Imperial Crusade needs to sniff out a possible spy and defector to the Minmatar, and the pilot has the task of carrying out raids to narrow down who has the information.
• Caldari: The State Protectorate tasks the pilot with finding a number of research facilities working on drone technology for the Gallente.
• Gallente: The Federal Defense Union needs to secure a number of facilities on drone research, particularly those that may have exceeded restrictions on drone AI similar to the rogue drone incidents several years ago.
• Minmatar: The Tribal Liberation Force sends its warriors to take advantage of intelligence from a defecting officer and attempt to rescue him.

Note that each arc would include several levels of branching for at least four different results (allowing pilots to experience each of them over the course of a year).

As rewards, I’d like to see factional tier two battlecruisers (e.g. a Republic Fleet Hurricane, Gallente Navy Myrmidon, et cetera). These would excel at their roles for damage (projectiles, drones, and so forth), with additional hitpoints and resistances but no defense bonuses.

Maybe next year…

Image credit nhoB_xelA

What I want to see in a CSM candidate

CCP announced a call for candidates for the Fourth Council on Stellar Management recently. I don’t have any intention of running at this time, but I have thought about what I’d like to see in a candidate. I’ve heard that parties, or at least shared platforms, may have started to develop among players. In lieu of that (at least for now), two areas concern me principally.

Immersion

I care about the “Prime Fiction,” EVE canon lore and background. I care a great deal about feeling that we inhabit this fictional universe. Note that this doesn’t always require roleplay, though that certainly can contribute. CCP has already noted that they will fix the “corrupt” astronomical data, which provides a great example of what I mean by this. So I want to see candidates that care about immersion.

In particular, I want CSM candidates who will champion player participation in the storyline. We may not have the outsize influence that Tibus Heth does, but we want to feel that what we do matters. The STPRO defeat of the FDU and subsequent moving of Caldari megacorps into Gallente low-sec has started to light the way, and hopefully we will see that increase. In fact, factional warfare could use a good dose of immersion, because the problems with plexes (speed-tanking Vigils, anyone?) really disrupt this feeling.

I also want to see the CSM continue to address faction standings recovery so that players can align with the so-called “pirate factions” even after having run missions for some time. Note that I don’t think that CCP should make it easy, just possible.

And of course the CSM needs to keep an open dialogue with CCP on Incarna (ambulation / “walking in stations”). We’ve started to hear that it should come in a 2010 release, but we need to understand this vastly increased scope, what it will mean, and how it will grow the player base and allow us to inhabit New Eden more fully.

Mechanics

Of course, I love the game itself of EVE Online, too. In addition to the FW mechanics I mentioned, we need further low-sec upgrades, perhaps a scaled-down version of  the nullsec changes coming in Dominion or more. Moving level 4 agent missions to low-sec might play a part in this, but the fixes to low-sec should encompass much more. I don’t have all the answers, but I want CSM members who understand the issues and believe in the value that low-sec space can bring to EVE.

In general, I want CSM members who believe in boosting over nerfing. For example, rather than nerfing ECM and jamming, let’s see target painting get upgrades. As players come forward with reasonable arguments about what doesn’t work, fix those things rather than bring down the competition. We want to feel awesome, not mundane.

I’d like to see the CSM push for more ship types, both factional and T2. Factional battlecruisers, another class of T2 destroyers, and something based on the tier 3 battleships  (a glaring hole). EVE has tremendous variety in the sandbox, but I want to see more.

So who will stand?

Image credits Bruno Postle, arnaud bertrande, and tim_d via Flickr