Miniprofession analysis
Right now, miniprofessions in EVE get boring quickly. Sure, I love scanning down sites and taking lots of screenshots, but when it comes time to use my codebreaker or analyzer modules, basically it comes down to sitting and waiting.
Pilots can’t actively do anything to reduce that waiting time, as we have a classic geometric distribution here. With Hacking IV, a Codebreaker I module, and no rigs, you have a 25% unlock chance and thus will take an average of four tries. If you have Hacking V, a Codebreaker II module, and an infrequently-used Memetic Algorithm Bank, you have a 52% unlock chance, which takes an average of two tries (or median of one, if you want to get really precise). The same calculations apply to Archaeology and its modules and rigs.
If the only way to improve things comes down to skill training and equipment, then what the pilot does when actively out in the sites doesn’t feel as fun. Maybe CCP could do something about that, though.
Personally, I’d like to see some sort of mini-games implemented. Skills and equipment should still matter, but perhaps a small mathematical puzzle or cryptogram could speed up the process. Alternately, success could improve the quality of the loot or discoveries. Due to EVE’s international nature, some of these might prove difficult for localization into other languages, but no doubt those dedicated and professional game designers sitting on top of the world can come up with something appropriate.
How would you improve the exploration miniprofessions?
Relaxation through regression
So I got a little frustrated today. Not with emoragequit at the game or the community, I should note. But I’ve had a bit of RL frustration and just wanted to clear my head without a bunch of conversation. EVE serves as my primary pastime, of course. If it doesn’t relax me, I’m doing it wrong. Feel free to psychoanalyze me all you want, but, like most citizens of the 21st century, I have a complicated life from which I want to escape once in a while.
I decided to roll an anonymous trial alt and run through the new tutorial missions. I did the exploration career agent first. While it leaves the scanning patterns a bit murky for those new pilots who might not otherwise know much about it, the wiki links should take care of that (more or less). The “implants” tutorial had a minor bug in that it didn’t actually grant the Cybernetics skillbook, but for less than 68k ISK, it doesn’t really matter. Early missions give more than that, as I didn’t even play ’smart’ and already have over 700k.
So what will this character do? For now, exploration and salvaging. I don’t want to powergame my way through EVE, but rather enjoy it for what it offers: a fascinatingly dark and gritty SF universe. With spaceships. And duct tape.
Lost my Typhoon already
Tanker Explosion Test by SiamEye
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.)
Blog Banter 14: Enabling the future
The first banter of 2010 comes to us from CrazyKinux himself, who asks the following: As we begin another year in New Eden, ask yourselves, “What Now?” What will I attempt next? What haven’t I done so far in EVE? Was it out of fear, funds, or knowledge? What steps and objectives will I set myself to accomplish in order to reach my ultimate goal for this year? EVE is what you make of it. So, what is it going to be for you?
Destination : Future by gilderic
I’ve had a rough idea of how I would like 2010 to go (EVE-wise) for a while, at least in some senses though not necessarily others. So let’s take a look…
Dominion patch notes review
This patch needs a closer look.
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!
Rudeness doesn't pay
While performing my usual public service tonight, this time in Penirgman, I ran across a number of privateer wrecks that presented navigational hazards to system traffic. Being such a civic-minded pilot, I elected to assist the local podder, crvena strijela of Axon Corp, in clearing these hazards by salvaging from the wrecks.
Evidently, though, he didn’t like that very much.
[04:55:40] Casiella Truza > Need something?
[04:56:05] crvena strijela > and u?
[04:56:14] Casiella Truza > You convoed me
[04:57:19] crvena strijela > why are y salvaging my wrecks?
[04:57:26] Casiella Truza > Oh, I hoped you were going to shoot. Because they’re there?
[05:00:47] Casiella Truza > Thanks for clearing the ships for me, though, I appreciate it greatly. Saves me a lot of time and effort.
[05:01:13] crvena strijela > u stupid bitch
[05:01:53] Casiella Truza > That’s not a nice thing to say at all. Just for that, I’m taking this head.
[05:02:15] crvena strijela > fuck off
Well, that just won’t do. Didn’t his family teach him better etiquette?
I’d just finished clearing the last wreck, leaving the containers for him, when he called me names. So instead, I took the head of the privateer commander whom his agent had sent him out to kill and docked up before he could even target my little Bantam.
I suppose that I do have a soft spot for pilots, so I contracted the trophy back to him, at first for 15m ISK. He claimed it wasn’t worth it for the mission, that he was only getting 800k for the level 4 mission. (He really needs a new agent, if that’s so.)
Now, my CEO, Vikarion, he takes good care of his people. He doesn’t like insults to us, either. So he talked to him, too:
[ 2009.02.15 05:07:33 ] Vikarion > Hello, Mr. Strijela
[ 2009.02.15 05:07:48 ] crvena strijela > hi
[ 2009.02.15 05:07:55 ] Vikarion > I have it on good authority that you have been insulting and demeaning one of my employees.
[ 2009.02.15 05:08:20 ] Vikarion > One Casiella Truza, to be exact.
[ 2009.02.15 05:08:44 ] crvena strijela > so why are your employees steeling?
[ 2009.02.15 05:09:21 ] Vikarion > As you are no doubt aware, our activities are perfectly legal under CONCORD law. Salvaging is expressly permitted, and wrecks belong to no one.
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:04 ] crvena strijela > that is why i didnt shoot her
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:09 ] Vikarion > As a result of your hostilities, our employee has thus retrieved an item important to you.
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:21 ] crvena strijela > y
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:32 ] Vikarion > I suggest you apologize for you profanity and buy the item back.
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:50 ] crvena strijela > maybe!!!!?
[ 2009.02.15 05:10:57 ] Vikarion > crvena strijela > u stupid bitch
[ 2009.02.15 05:11:25 ] Vikarion > crvena strijela > fuck off
[ 2009.02.15 05:11:35 ] Vikarion > Your words, as I recall.
[ 2009.02.15 05:11:57 ] Vikarion > Such insults have been known to lead to war, Mr. Strijela.
[ 2009.02.15 05:12:21 ] Vikarion > Would your CEO be pleased with such an occurrence?
[ 2009.02.15 05:13:19 ] crvena strijela > dont know, have to ask him!
[ 2009.02.15 05:14:29 ] Vikarion > I see. A word of advice: don’t start fights you have neither the ISK nor the capacity to prosecute.
[ 2009.02.15 05:15:16 ] crvena strijela > i didnt start, she did
[ 2009.02.15 05:15:53 ] Vikarion > Ah, but you did. Insults are an offense to us. And she is within her rights to salvage where she likes, what she likes, without being insulted.
[ 2009.02.15 05:16:17 ] Vikarion > If she was shooting at you, I might be more compelled to understanding.
[ 2009.02.15 05:16:42 ] crvena strijela > well! i didnt know that
[ 2009.02.15 05:16:53 ] crvena strijela > but she wasnt nice
[ 2009.02.15 05:16:54 ] Vikarion > /emote nods.
[ 2009.02.15 05:17:33 ] Vikarion > I’ll let it pass, this time, I think. Everyone makes mistakes. She has said she will contract you the item back for a…reasonable price.
[ 2009.02.15 05:17:42 ] Vikarion > Good day.
Because I have that soft spot, I lowered the price to 2m and re-offered it to him. The 15 million never was a number I really expected, but more of a tweak. Then we talked about it for a while, as he really didn’t want to pay that much.
[05:20:57] Casiella Truza > You need that head for your agent?
[05:21:16] crvena strijela > yes
[05:21:26] Casiella Truza > I contracted it to you, you can get it and complete the mission
[05:21:59] crvena strijela > 15 000 000 is not worth
[05:22:20] Casiella Truza > You sure? I mean, I can do business. What’s the ISK completion for the mission?
[05:23:11] crvena strijela > 800000
[05:23:31] Casiella Truza > That seems low for an L4. Does that include the time bonus?
[05:23:44] crvena strijela > with bonus
[05:24:22] Casiella Truza > That seems low. Tell you what, I’ll contract it to you for 2m and that way you won’t lose any loyalty points.
[05:24:54] crvena strijela > so what u think it is worth for me?
[05:25:08] Casiella Truza > do you want to lose standings with the corp?
[05:25:13] Casiella Truza > Those are a pain to make up again.
[05:26:00] crvena strijela > will give u 1, with things u salvage makes 2
[05:26:21] Casiella Truza > The salvage is already mine, that’s not much negotiation. Plus, you were rude, and that just hurt my feelings.
[05:27:03] crvena strijela > so i was suppose to be nce!!!?
[05:28:14] crvena strijela > u will take head anyway
[05:28:33] Casiella Truza > No, I’ll offer it on contract to you and you can complete the mission, get the standings, etc.
[05:28:49] Casiella Truza > Or, you know, don’t. Your decision, but you seem like a smart guy.
[05:29:42] crvena strijela > 1 mill is my last decission
[05:30:07] Casiella Truza > The contract is up for 2m. Take it or leave it.
[05:30:37] crvena strijela > forget
[05:31:34] Casiella Truza > It’ll take you quite a few missions to make up the standings decrease for failing the mission.
[05:32:04] crvena strijela > i have time
[05:32:48] Casiella Truza > I don’t have anything to lose here. You do. Consider this a lesson in etiquette, and a cheap one at 2 million.
[05:33:00] crvena strijela > will do one mission level 4 and that is it
[05:33:09] Casiella Truza > Others might have wardecced your corp, and from what I can tell your corp doesn’t do well in those.
[05:33:24] Casiella Truza > But we’re more civilized, offering you a chance to resolve this amicably.
[05:33:42] Casiella Truza > I suspect it’ll take a lot more than one mission to make it up, crvena.
[05:34:55] crvena strijela > 1.2mill
[05:35:23] Casiella Truza > The contract is already up, you can take it as is. It’ll stay there for 3 days so you have plenty of time to think it over.
[05:35:30] Casiella Truza > But the bonus time on your mission will expire
[05:35:34] Casiella Truza > making your loss even worse
[05:36:12] crvena strijela > see that is why i offered u 1.2
[05:36:28] Casiella Truza > Why?
[05:37:01] Casiella Truza > I came <i>way</i> down from my initial 15m. The least you can do is take it for 2 and we both go on our merry ways.
[05:37:03] crvena strijela > bec of bonus time
[05:37:35] Casiella Truza > You could also just take it now, get your bonus and standings, and not lose anything.
[05:38:15] crvena strijela > of course you came down bec i will not pay that
[05:38:48] Casiella Truza > I’m just trying to give you a chance. Otherwise, I’ll just keep it in my hangar as a reminder to myself.
[05:39:10] crvena strijela > think we are both loosing
[05:39:25] crvena strijela > time and isk
[05:39:27] Casiella Truza > I’m not losing anything.
[05:39:45] Casiella Truza > Every minute that goes by is a minute you <i>could</i> be running another mission.
[05:40:34] crvena strijela > i just wanted to finish this mission and go to sleep
[05:40:49] Casiella Truza > So do that, it’s all in your control, crvena.
[05:40:59] crvena strijela > where are u from?
[05:41:07] Casiella Truza > Why do you ask?
[05:41:37] crvena strijela > bec it is very late here
[05:41:53] Casiella Truza > It’s not that late, for me I’ll be around for a while.
[05:42:34] crvena strijela > well here is 5:40
[05:42:46] crvena strijela > am
[05:43:16] Casiella Truza > Wow, that’s late. You probably need to turn in your mission and get some rest.
[05:43:38] crvena strijela > y
[05:44:04] Casiella Truza > So just go ahead and take the contract. I’d hate to see you lose out on the bonus money and all, too.
[05:45:05] crvena strijela > loook i wil give u 1.2 mill and that is it
[05:45:29] Casiella Truza > you can’t go any higher at all? I mean, not even 1.8?
[05:46:43] Casiella Truza > Hmm, I’m looking at this Bestower you lost.
[05:46:49] Casiella Truza > You had a lot of salvage in there.
[05:47:45] Casiella Truza > You’ve got plenty of ISK.
He left the conversation momentarily due to some communications disruption on his end. We kept talking about it, though, as I was in-station anyway to take care of some personal business.
[05:49:32] crvena strijela > lost conection
[05:49:49] Casiella Truza > So, I just realized you have lots of salvage, if you can lose all that in your Bestower.
[05:49:54] Casiella Truza > 2m seems like a good price.
[05:49:55] crvena strijela > have u decided?
[05:50:13] Casiella Truza > http://www.battleclinic.com/eve_online/pk/view.php?type=corp&name=Axon+Corp&id=5621405&page=1&filter=losses#mail
[05:51:10] Casiella Truza > Just about a month ago, right? I’m sure you’ve made it all up since then.
[05:52:44] crvena strijela > well that is another reason i dont want to pay
[05:53:27] Casiella Truza > I’m firm on the 2 million. You will just have to make your agent mad otherwise, and those standings take a big hit when you fail.
[05:55:15] crvena strijela > i know they hit hard, but i just dont want to pay
[05:55:59] Casiella Truza > Your decision, but it seems like a waste for you to do that over a measly extra 800k. You made that just off the one large gun I saw in one of the wrecks.
[05:59:01] crvena strijela > look
[05:59:21] Casiella Truza > Yes?
[05:59:24] crvena strijela > it is even not in money
[05:59:44] Casiella Truza > Eh?
[06:00:03] crvena strijela > it is in charisma
[06:00:25] Casiella Truza > I don’t follow what you’re saying
[06:00:38] crvena strijela > how long r u playing?
[06:01:22] Casiella Truza > Well, I’m going to head out for a bit. The contract is there, it’s up to you.
Poor kid, his agent will really yell at him for this. Maybe next time he’ll treat people more politely.
Aggressive salvage operations
A few days ago, I started engaging in “aggressive salvage operations” in Federation space. This means scanning down podder ships to salvage the Serpentis wrecks they leave behind and occasionally the loot as well. Yes, this latter bit means that they can take shots at us (Vikarion came along as an escort), but so far no one has. Oddly, they bluster about a wardec, but why would they pay CONCORD 5m ISK to do what they can do right then? Recovering abandoned T2 drones works pretty well, too. Also, I picked up some unsecured ice over in Everyshore. Most of the Mackinaws had properly deployed secure containers to support their work, but some folks just don’t want to take the time to do it right. I don’t know if any of them actually learned their lesson; they might need a pop quiz for a refresher soon.
I started working around Dodixie, primarily, but I’ve decided not to stay around there. Too much competition, with Suddenly Ninjas basing out of the same location. I didn’t realize that when I started. The ISK per hour doesn’t reach really high levels, but the practice at scanning people down and sticking it to the Navy lackeys has made it all worthwhile.
Actually, I think we’ve performed a public service. After all, this debris in space presents a clear navigational hazard to all the folks flying around the system, and abandoned drones just seem so lonely.
Now, several of us in the White Rose Society intend to head over to space where our colleagues in the Sansha Nation have tried to carry out operations against the Amarr. I understand that the Empire’s agents in some areas hand out a lot of assignments to corrupt podders doing their bidding and use this to try to stem the tide. We’ll see what happens when the non-podder ships get a little bit of support, both in terms of recovering the crews via aggressive salvaging and intervening more directly in low-sec operations.
