Friday, September 15, 2006

EON #005 - Table of Content




















Table of Content - EON 005
  • Page 6 --- E-ON Upfront (News)
  • 12 ---- Post Cards from the edge (Screen shots)
  • 14 ---- In Crowd: Magnus Bergsson (CCP Employee Interview)
  • 16 ---- In Character: Omber Zombie (Player Character Interview)
  • 18 ---- Chronicle: My Better Half by Tom Czerniawski
  • 20 ---- Confession of a TV Junkie
  • 24 ---- Darwin's Conception
  • 30 ---- In Character: Caytlyn Rose (Player Character Interview)
  • 32 ---- Cover Story: 200 Rounds
  • 38 ---- Terraforming EVE
  • 44 ---- Chronicle: The Dragon by Andrew Dice
  • 49 ---- In Character: Raem Civrie (Player Character Interview)
  • 50 ---- Testflight: Stealth Bombers
  • 58 ---- In Crowd: Dan Speed (CCP Employee Interview)
  • 60 ---- Insider's Guide: Missions (Player Guide)
  • 66 ---- Insider's Guide: Moon Minning (Player Guide)
  • 72 ---- Insider's Guide: CCG (Player Guide)
  • 78 ---- Teh Funnies (EVE Humour)

Friday, September 08, 2006

E-ON #005 upcoming goodies

Just received an email from MMMPublishing, publishers of EON magazine, about the upcoming 5th issue. Here the newsletter image (linky).

Seems that all subscribers will be getting a meter wide poster of Iron Tide - which I mentioned earlier in this post. The Iron Tide poster from Alex Martaza, will be on high-quality gloss paper and will be 96cm x 47cm! I can't wait to get this.

I've already told the wife that I'm getting it framed. Her first response was, "Where the heck are you going to put it?" Don't worry guys, I'll find a place to display it in all its glory.

It was also mentioned that in this issue we'll be reading about:

- Terraforming EVE (RTS anyone)
- New EVE Fiction
- EVE-TV (tournaments!!)
- How-to Guides (notice the plural)
Remember, the poster will only be available to subscribers. So either renew your subscription (like I did the minute I got my 4th issue), or start your EON subscription. Click here to do so!
P.S.: I know that the issue shown above is #004; that's because the cover the next issue isn't known yet. I'll change it once I can link to the correct cover image.
P.P.S.: Updated image with correct 5th issue cover.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Some thoughts on the EIB scam

By now, most of the EVE Online community has heard, read, discussed and argued about the EVE Intergalactic Bank scam. Having read a few posts on various blogs (here, here, and the rest here) I didn't see a need to add anything else. Pretty much everyone agreed that though the act was shameful or despicable, it was part of EVE Online. Actually I'd even go as far as saying that the fact that such in-game (and this is very important) criminal activity are allowed, shows just how complex and free EVE Online really is.

But then I read a few more article that really pissed me off. These people really didn't get it. They confused in-game and real-life (RL), as if committing a crime while in-game could have consequences in RL. Take Caroline McCarthy's article "Cons in the virtual gaming world" at News.com, or worse, James Grimmelmann's "When Virtual Banks Fail" over at LawMeme. Please go and read these two articles and comeback to read the rest of my post. C'mon go ahead, and don't worry, the links will open up in new tabs or windows.

Here's where they both fail in their thinking: CCP's EULA does not allow Real Money Trade (RMT). End of story. If you did decide to purchase some ISKs (EVE Online's currency) with your hard earned money, and you lose it in-game, then tough luck buddy. You're shit-out-of-luck! For the same reasons that Vegas casinos won't allow you to bring your own cards at a Blackjack game and slip them in or that Monopoly money for that matter in a Monopoly game with your friends, CCP does not allow RMT, because it destroy the player-run economy and skews the game.

So there you have it. The EIB scam was a disgusting operation and I can't blame the players who lost a lot of ISKs for being upset. But they knew the risks. It was all part of the game, all part of the freedom and opportunities allowed within EVE Online. And like pGSX commented over at QJ.NET "Its part of the game. It would be like suing someone you lost to at poker."

Before you go, please put your vote in and leave a comment. I'm curious to know what's your opinion, even if you don't play EVE Online.