Null Sec stagnation and eve is dying?

The blogosphere was alive for awhile with 'eve is dying' or 'null is stagnant' and some are actually talking some positives or trying to find a positive direction.  Lets take a peak real quick at what the writers are saying:

This is by no means a comprehensive list but are the articles that I have enjoyed reading so far.

CZ - Eve is Dying

EVE is Alive

In Response to EVE is Alive

CZ Huola Bloodbath

Funky Bacon's (Phasers to fun)

TMC Rethinking Nullsec

Endie's recent posts:
The Most Unpopular statement in today's EVE
Let a thousand jagged flowers bloom
The patchword EVE
A game of fights: Returning PVP to EVE Sovereignty
Will nobody think of the newbies?
The Evil behind the thousand Megathrons

I've remained quite a bit quiet on this topic because all of my nullsec experience is 10 years old and well before ANY kind of official sovereignty was brought into the game.  Back then we had sovereignty because we were THERE, period.  You want us out... come make us leave.  This is why I'm really liking endie's posts a lot and the more recent TMC article.

So, as is being discussed, I don't think that a tug of war sovereignty system is the ONLY solution at this point.  As INNOMINATE states in that TMC article, there is a serious problem with remote reps.  I don't agree that stopping remote reps when a counter is present is a good idea however.  This is very much like a combat medic not able to help his troops while they're suppressed under heavy fire and wounded.  But lets think on that a bit more shall we?

Firstly, before I dive into that problem let me ask you, the reader, a question.  Why do you play EVE besides the fact that its internet spacesubmarinces?  Some of my own answers:

* Complexity
* Loss is real
* Vastness of space and things you can do
* Don't have to grind for xp but rather just wait (I'm quite patient in this regard)

The list goes on actually but I'm going to stop there for now.  The main thing I want to talk to you about today is the fact that Loss is real.  When my blingy Daredevil does explode, its gone... space dust... only what wasn't destroyed in the violent destruction of that  massive vessel remains for my foe to loot and take to market.  Yes, that is of course a frigate but its still a very massive vessel when you think about it.  Lets take a small break and watch a couple videos, ok?

This one is nice in that it shows various ships over a virtual scale city and also compares them to us wee humans.

This one I like because it starts off with a human being then steps into the ships.

So, what we're dealing with here are MASSIVE structures with many breaking points.  Yet these structures can live infinitely long as long as the reps keep up... really?  Wouldn't the structure underneath those massive armor plates start to succumb to the pressure of the explosions, melting plasma, concussions and the melting lasers?  I mean, seriously, come on now.  No subsystems start to shut down or internal fires break out when armor plates are gone and hull starting to breach.  Lets also consider the fact that these ships are exposed to the violent stars in the system they are in... do you understand the power of a star... the radiation it kicks out... the heat it produces...  Go outside and just feel the sun hit your skin...  That ball of fire is 1 AU (149,597,871 km or 92,955,807.3 miles) away from us and yet it can still burn your fragile skin...

I'd like to see some form of damage propagate either into the hull of the ship or into its modules as heat damage so that sustaining under fire is no longer possible into infinity as long as your logi are alive and kicking.  Logi would also be subject to this problem where their remote reps start to take damage if they are in fact shot at or primaried and therefore indirectly nerf them without really nerfing them.  I personally would like to see this done as heat damage (don't specifically call it heat damage) so that it can be undone, but at a cost.  That cost obviously being nanite paste while in space or isk when you dock up for repairs.  If you so choose to use nanite paste, you are effectively gimping yourself while the repairs are taking place.  Therefore, nothing becomes infinitely possible while in the heat of combat.

I feel that Endie's post about stacking penalties for remote reps has a lot of merit and I believe it would solve the wrecking ball problem quite nicely (and quickly as this change should be easier to implement and balance).  Feels almost a little bit too heavy handed of a nerf however but that could just be me striving to be revenant in the blogosphere.

I'm realizing however that my option has issue's and those are around PVE content.  Mission grinders will take a pretty serious beating unless this implementation is done just right.  This could however then call for a grand rebuilding of the missions content.  Fewer but harder rats, it seems we're already going in this direction possibly with the burner missions.

I'm just going to publish this because I've been sitting on it for quite awhile now and I wonder what you all out have to say about this type of change?

Fly dangerous o7

Easy Playback

As I live and learn I start to pilot more and more expensive ships.  I don't fly them just because they're blingy but rather because of what they do and how they do it.  This little baby was a blast to pilot while it lasted and its roam was dedicated to my currently lost little buddy.  While I don't have a whole lot to show for it (I'm quite upside down on its roam efficiency wise) there were a few things that happened to it that there is no 'public record' to show.

Let me just share its roam with you, if you'd so indulge me.

--BEGIN ROAM STORY--
My mission was to roam until I was evicted from it and I wouldn't pilot another ship until this one blew up.  I was hoping for a longer roam but am quite pleased at what I and it accomplished.

So, I had been hearing about this Huola campaign for a short while (at least I think it was Huola).  So, I decided I'd set my destination there starting from Ish and shoot at whatever was in space on my journey.  Don't quote me on my destination as it might have just been to Hevrice or some random spots but I could have sworn it was Huola.

So I set my destination and start jumping gates.  As I get out of the area I jump into a rather large gate camp and think that my roam is surely over at this point...  I'm not entirely sure how I managed to evade them as there were about 40 of them or so but maybe they weren't paying attention or were told to not fire due to aggression timers...  I don't know but I was thankful that I was able to move along in relative peace ;).

My first fight was rather handily won and I'm not entirely sure why he stuck around if he saw me on d-scan.  This is where things start to get interesting though as I apparently caught the eye of some bling hunters (or sprung the trap) and in comes a merlin right as I'm finishing off the hookbill.  I wasn't going to be swayed away from this kill though so I finish off the HB and then move to start aligning out as there are more ships on scan besides just the merlin.  One of those ships being a bantam so I know what to expect at this point.

Lock up the merlin, check his speed... oh bugger, he's MWD fit so he really wants to get on top of me and let his blasters do the work.  I OH the navy web and slow him down to where he should be and lay down some fire.  His shields are tough and the bantam isn't on the field yet so I MIGHT just be able to pop him but alas, the bantam lands just as I'm getting into his armor and saves his measly little ship.  Time to move to the next fight... this one's done, so I warp out.

The next 'fight' is an atron and I... uh... think it was asleep because it just went pop and I don't think it moved...  Oh well, time to... wait... whats this on d-scan... a succubus...  Ooohhh, now this should be a juicy target.  The question though... is he stupid enough to engage alone?  Yep, but of course he's not alone...  As we begin our dance I find a decent celestial to align out to because of his worm buddy that wants to eat me for breakfast...  I manage to get this pilot down to 1/4 armor though before he either started ASB boosting or his shield reps landed on grid... he was melting nicely too.  Oh well, time to bugger out since I'm now no longer pointed... god I love 90% webs ;).

The roam continues from that point where I make it back home and whore on a kestrel and nab his pod.  So at this point I've linked back up with my corpies, grabbed quite a few beers and am still in this DD.  So, I do what any crazy bastard would do... engage everything...  You saw how that worked out for me and maybe I could have escaped its fate but alas, I lost another blingy DD.  May it RIPieces!
--END ROAM STORY--

So, why did I tell you this story?  Because honestly, in my mind it was a blast and I have some awesome imaginary but I didn't nor can I record it due to technical limitations and laziness.  What I would like to do however is be able to take some form of game logs and toss it through the EVE Rendering engine and make a movie.

Think about that, your status is constantly reported up to and from the central server.  This data then renders on your screen through the client and its knowledge of the universe and the state that the universe is in around you.  Now, if you're reading this blog, then I think its safe to assume that you've watched some of those talented people that record or stream their fights.  If you are like me then you get a little frustrated every now and then because its not always fun to watch from the pilots exact perspective at all times.  Sometimes you might want to look at the enemy and what they're doing in relation to the pilot or the 'star' of the movie.

Maybe you're a recorder and forgot to hit record just before the most epic fight of you life and now you have nothing to show besides your memories of it and a killmail that doesn't tell the whole story.  Granted this feature would add in some overhead and introduce some potentially serious issue's but I feel it would be worth the risk.  It would also not be a simple undertaking as there would have to be some other client that can parse these new logs, render the universe, let you change camera angles, etc and then render it to a movie.

This is some wishful thinking, but I feel it would make some seriously awesome and epic out of game content for the community to help sell the game!

Worst in the pack?

Ok, I lied, its time for me to start screaming that EVE is dying... wait a minute.  No its not, damnit!

So, just recently, a small conversation broke out on the EVEOGANDA where some guy called EVE the worst in the pack of Space MMO's.  I have to disagree and its not JUST because I love EVE but rather... how can you compare apples and oranges?  Let me explain...

EVE Online is exactly what it is.  Yes, it has its short comings but to claim that EVE Online is the worst in the pack of 3 where 1 is in a constant development hell and the other hasn't even taken off yet... Really?  Elite: Dangerous has a history and will more than likely cause the numbers of logged in users in EVE to dwindle while they begin their trek in a sequel to a game that probably drew them to EVE in the first place.  Will they leave EVE Online forever... that is yet to be seen.  There is history in EVE Online that they will NEVER be able to leave behind, no-one that has gotten very deep into EVE can deny this.

Elite: Dangerous has the potential to be JUST like what some people see EVE to be as far as Newbie hostile is concerned.  In the anonymous existence we all now live in how easy is it for us to hide behind these damn computer monitors and spew crap at each other?  Very easy, just look at facebook for more than 20 minutes and watch all the stupid drama take place right before your eyes.  Space... its a dangerous place and I don't care what game you jump into... if there is PVP enabled... greifers will be there... they will kill you... they will find you and they will wait for you.

EVE Online wasn't ALWAYS like it is now.  In the beginning there was plenty of chatter in local channels, complete strangers jetting ore into the same can while a third complete stranger came to pick it up.  Once that was done, we split the ore evenly and went our separate ways only to probably come back the next day and do the same thing.  After a few of these meet ups, we banded together and found a 'home' and built up some shared assets.  Hell, sometimes we'd split up and find new groups of friends only to merge larger groups of friends together under one umbrella and accomplish something awesome.

Now, don't get me wrong, there were scammers, pirates, scoundrels, 'hackers' or whatever you want to call those that game the system and other general 'low lives'.  These are the roles that we all pick to play in this GAME that so closely mirrors real life.  The scammers aren't as prevalent as some would like you to believe... or maybe they are...  take a chance and find out maybe instead of isolating yourself into a one man corporation thinking that you'll find what it is that makes EVE what it is.

Come join us in the EVEOGANDA or 'The Frosty Hammer' public chat channels in game.  Be sure to poke us as we might not be actively monitoring the channel for new arrivals or we might be busy shooting someone in the face and doing something else in space.

Project Appleseed

I had planned on putting together a piece about all the crap flying around that null is stagnant and broke and how eve is dying... but forget about that, eve is as alive as it has been since the beginning.  So the concurrent user count is down, I still see the lights on and I'm seeing things happen on the dev front that aren't TOO terribad so HTFU and play or leave... we'll replace you if you go :P.

Anyways, onto what I REALLY wanted to talk about today.  The space noob is back and he's brewed up a good project that I feel like doing myself now.  Go read and it start dumping cans.  Lets plant some damn seeds and see what grows!  Linky for your reading pleasure.