My take on gaming, short scifi film, RPGs and anything & everything remotely geeky!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
EVE Blog Banter #8: Care for a little game of SecWars?
Welcome to the eighth 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 otherEVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
This month's topic comes to us from me, Ga'len at The Wandering Druid of Tranquility. He asks: "What new game mechanic or mechanics would you like to see created and brought into the EVE Online universe and how would this be incorporated into the current game universe? Be specific and give details, this is not meant to be a 'nerf this, boost my game play' post like we see on the EVE forums."
Ga'len my friend, you are one bright star in the New Eden universe! But seriously, game mechanics? Who do you think I am, Hilmar? Listen, before I wreck havoc to the inner workings of EVE, I'll let game design and game mechanics to the Intertubes Gnomes and stick to what I know! Socializing of course!
When I'm not blogging or making a podcast (been a long time) about EVE, I'm either running missions, transporting ore from a mining operations back to a station or a Phoenix Labs POS, or mostly likely docked at a station, chatting in 4 or 5 different in-game channels! I've always thought that there was a more entertaining way to chat with a few corp mates while docked, waiting for a corp ops to start, or at the end of a long mining session.
Back at Fanfest 2008, we had the chance to see the development of mini-games during the Walking-in-Station demo. Well actually, we've only had the chance to see one of these games, but it struck a cord. Flash forward a few months, and we still don't have WiS, but why couldn't we have those mini-games?
Why couldn't I play with a mate in another station, 30 jumps away? The opportunity exists to create mini-games that could be as addictive as SecWars, or Defense Grid for that matter. And I'm sure that we could come-up with 10 of these together quite easily. You could play for fun, for ISKs, for modules, ships, or whatever you want to gamble. We could have tournaments, just like we have the Alliance Tournament! Or we could simply have a one-on-one! Oh the possibilities!!
List of Participants:
- CrazyKinux's Musing, EVE Blog Banter #8: Care for a little game of SecWars?
- The Wandering Druid of Tranquility, Wow, that new thing is so shiny!!!
- I am Keith Nielson, EVE Blog Banter #8 - Return of the Top Gun
- Once More from the Beginning, EVE Blog Banter #8 - Devil's in the Details
- A merry life and a short one, EVE Blog Banter #8: In the Year of Our Awesome
- Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah, Planets
- Helicity Boson, Bantering the blog
- Achernar, Unique adventures
- Ecliptic Rift, OOC: EVE Blog Banter 8: Standings and secondary factions
- The New Edener, EVE Blog Banter #8
- Journey to New Eden, Eve Blog Banter #8: What new mechanic should be added to Eve?
- One Man And His Spaceship, Blog Banter 8 - Something new to ponder about
- Life, The Universe and Everything, Blog banter 8: mentorship
- EVE Guru, EBB 8: Yarr! Prepare to be boarded!
- The Ralpha Dogs, Greed Is Good, Greed Works
- Rifter Drifter, Blog Banter 8: Strategic Gunnery
- A Mule in EVE, Expanding EVE
- Letrange's EvE Blog, 8th Blog Banter
- Roc's Ramblings, Blog Banter #8
- The Nude Nerd, Blog Banter #8
- Scop's Log, Blog Banter #8: "We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!"
- Speed Fairy, EVE Blog Banter #8: Charisma Tanking
- Industrialist with Teeth, EVE Blog Banter #8: It’s Like Tetris for OCD People
- Diary of a Pod Pilot, EVE blog banter #8: Killing in the name of
- Talk Unfraid, Physical Communications
- Sceadugenca, EVE Blog Banter #8: Fighter-Class Ships and Sqadrons
- Kyle Langdon's Journeys in EVE, 8th Blog Banter
- Into the Unknown, Eve Blog Banter #8: Player Bases
- EVE's Weekend Warrior, EVE Blog Banter #8
- Life in Low Sec, Blog Banter #8: The Exasperation Factor
- Symptom of a Greater Cure, EVE Blog Banter: #8 - Tug Me Away
- EVE Journey, OOC - EVE Blog Banter #8: Marine Leader : “We have secured the ship, Sir!”
- Thoughts from an Accidental Minmatar Revolutionary, All Hands on Deck! We are at War!
- Ripe Lacunae, Into the Great Unknown (Eve Blog Banter 8)
- Mdhi Lihu's EVE Online Blog, 009 - Blog Banter #8
- Break Vol, EVE Blog Banter #8
- Inanity and Doom, EVE Blog Banter #8 - If I Ran The Universe
- Once More from the Beginning, EVE Blog Banter #8: Devil's in the details
- The Flightless Geek, EVE Blog Banter #8
- DeafPlasma's EVE Musing, EVE Blog Banter #8 - Legalized Gambling
- Matt's EVE Online Blog, EVE Blog Banter #8: Improved autopilot (IAP)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
EVE Online Speedlinking for Saturday May 23rd, 2009
Before the explosions of new blogs happened, a few new EVE blogs had gained my attention. These are listed below.
- Matt's Blog - EVE Online
- GetThePod.com
- One Tired EVE Pilot
- EVE Journey
- The Loyalist
- Bump in the Night
- Zoology – Predators and Prey in New Eden
- SCC-Lounge
- The Nude Nerd
- EVE Blogging Platforms:
- West Karana, EVE Online: A noob in New Eden
- The Ancient Gaming Noob
- Kirith Kodachi over at EVE Tribune, Stealth Nerf / Un-Nerf
- Roc's Ramblings, Faction Warfare 101
- Articulated Sky, CSM 2009: What’s in it for you?
- CrazyKinux's Musing, EON issue #015 Table of Content
- Nursultan's Pirate Blag, Mission Busting Tips
- CCP Games won a Media Momentum award earlier this week, for Vision & Future Growth Potential (See page 6)
- Only 2 days after placing my order on Amazon.ca, I received Doug Chaing's "Robota" graphic novel and Daniel Simon's "Cosmic Motors: Spaceship, Cars and (sexy) Pilots of Another Galaxy" (more info on the latter in an upcoming post!)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
EON #015 - Table of Content

Table of Content - EON 015
- Page 6 --- E-ON Upfront (News)
- 12 ---- Quarterly Alliance Report
- 16 ---- E-ON Awards 2009 - The Winners
- 18 ---- Postcards from the Edge (Screen shots)
- 22 ---- In Crowd: Greg Kruk
- 24 ---- Clear Skies 2
- 31 ---- In Character: Svetlana Scarlet
- 32 ---- Alliance Profile: Ushra'Khan
- 34 ---- Chronicle: Grandma's Letters, by Tom Czerniawski
- 40 ---- Cover Feature: The End?
- 46 ---- Alliance Profile: Morsus Mihi
- 48 ---- In Character: NTRabbit
- 50 ---- Chronicle: Prequel to Dark, by Paul Dunthorne
- 52 ---- Testflight: Beginner Ships
- 65 ---- In Character: Sheriff Jones
- 66 ---- In Crowd: Pall Ivarsson
- 68 ---- Insider's Guide: EVE API, by Capsuleer creators PyjamaSam and Roc Wieler
- 72 ---- Insider's Guide: Production - Part 2
- 80 ---- EVE Directory, by my friend LaVista Vista
- 82 ---- Teh Funnies (EVE Humour)
Defense Grid: The Awakening ...is beyond addictive!
At $20, the game is a bargain (I got it through Steam at $5 during a limited time offer I imagine).
If you're looking for a simple strategy game that quickly pulls you in, then Defense Grid: The Awakening is it!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Robota: one robot movie I really wish got made!
If you've got any information, I'd love to know more!
Making the most of the EVE Online Free Trial
Massively multiplayer online games come in two distinct groups, and I'm not referring to genres here. At one end of the spectrum you've got the "theme park" flavor - WoW being a well known example - and at the other the "sand box" flavor - in this case EVE Online. Neither games can be fully understood in the first few weeks of playing, but in case of the latter, it's even more difficult to truly appreciate the possibilities and the fun that comes with this approach to MMOs.
- Dee Carson's insightful article on which skills to train at first
- @JohnBatDell's "From peon to pirate" (read part 2 here)
- 10+ post for new players to EVE
- What WoW Players should know about EVE
- EVE Online from a Second Lifer perspective
- Massively's Brendan Drain and his exhaustive EVE Online new player guide
- On why we play EVE (Blog Banter #2)
- Euro Gamer's "Gettting into EVE"
- EVE Fitting and Ship acronyms and terminology (EVE Forums)
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday Video: Mass Effect 2 Teaser
I loved the original Mass Effect, despite the XBOX 360-version interface issues. I loved the visuals and storyline they build with this franchise. I can't wait for more!
Newest EVE Online Blogs to be added!
Well it's Friday! And in the tradition of my ol' EVE Online Speedlinking days, when I had the time to roam the intertubes freely without the worry of a full time job, I've put together a list of the new EVE Blogs that have recently been added to the EVE Blogroll.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Mr. Invisible: 50 days to Covert Operations!
As I've recently mentioned, I'm currently training to play a different role within Phoenix Labs. I'm also tired of getting stranded in low sec or on the other side of a gate camp. Flying incognito seems like a sexy way of moving around New Eden. Screw the Pirates! :p
- Logic I
- Focus I
- Logic II
- Focus II
- Logic III
- Electronics Upgrades V
- Covert Ops I
- Gallente Frigate V
- Jury Rigging I
- Astrometrics I
- Minmatar Drone Specialization I
- Cloaking I
- Jury Rigging II
- Astrometrics II
- Cloaking II
- Jury Rigging III
- Electronic Superiority Rigging I
- Electronic Superiority Rigging II
- Astrometrics III
- Electronic Superiority Rigging III
- Cloaking III
- Astrometrics IV
- Astrometric Pinpointing I
- Astrometric Pinpointing II
- Astrometric Pinpointing III
- Cloaking IV
- Covert Ops II
- Covert Ops III
- Covert Ops IV
- Electronic Warfare IV
- Astrometric Pinpointing IV
- Electronic Superiority Rigging IV
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
40 New EVE Online Blogs: How's that for a healthy Blogging Community
Following my recent addition of 23 new EVE Online blogs, here I go adding another 40. Ok, so removing the 5 outdated blogs, we're still adding 35 active blogs. That's pretty amazing, considering EVE "only" has 300,000 players! I do realize that some of the blogs below aren't necessarily "new". They just were'nt on my list, and so are "new" to the list.
- Hardwirings and all that
- Vikarion
- Why So Sad?
- EVE Hub
- Agent EVE
- Eve Maps
- Discovering EVE
- 500 kills
- Fly Reckless
- Flying Ducktape
- Ghosts of Lowsec
- Internet Chieftains
- It's Just Business
- Kalazar Zachan
- Kill Ten Rats
- Larkonis for CSM
- Logs of a Butor
- Melindhra's Universe
- Personal Files, Ciarente Roth
- Pod Pilot
- Podded: The EVE Online podcast for you!
- Ramblings <-- Out of Date
- Rancer Defense League
- Red Mist
- Rishal's Return
- Sandwich
- Dookagala <-- Out of Date
- Skyes Super Happy Fun Pirating Blog! Wait what?
- Addicted to EvE
- Adventures of a Pirate-Wench
- Aeon's EVE
- Blacklight
- Not So Blinky Blinky
- Etherium Reach
- EVE Online Ships <-- Out of Date
- EVE Online Wormholes
- Speed Fairy
- Eve Online 0.0 Experiment (The) <-- Out of Date
- New Eden Diaries (The)
- Pirate Bay (The) <-- Out of Date
Training for Covert Operations - The Art of Espionnage
I've been playing EVE for almost 5 years now, and in this time, I've done lots with my main (and my only character really). From mining by myself (which I still do) or as part of a corporate operation, to trading across multiple regions, to running missions (3 at a time thank you very much!), even to a fewmedium and large PvP encounters.
Yet, as I mentioned recently in the 7th EVE Blog Banter, there are plenty of things I'd like to try. Amongst them, the art of espionage and covert operations.
In order to reach such a noble goal, I've relied on the expertise of my corporation; finding out what skills I need to train, and to which level. The list below is provided through Phoenix Labs Member Only site. It's a list of the skills needed, according to our in-house experts, in order to perform at the necessary levels.
The ones in bold red are the ones that require further training in order to meet the desired skills of expertise. As you can see, I'll need to request Cloaking and Covert Ops, in order to train them to level 4 each. These will be the ones in my training queue over the next few weeks.
Skills Required for Gallente Covert Op - Frigates
(Skill Required-Level Required-My Current Level)
- Cloaking-4-0
- Electronic Warfare-4-2
- Electronics-5-5
- Electronics Upgrades-5-4
- Long Reange Targeting-4-5
- Propulsion Jamming-3-2 (currently in training)
- Sensor Linking-3-4
- Signature Analysis-3-4
- Targeting-3-5
- Weapon Disruption-3-2
- Energy Grid Upgrades-3-4
- Energy Management-3-4
- Engineering-3-5
- Gunnery -3-5
- Small Hybrid Turret-4-5
- Acceleration Control-4-5
- Evasive Maneuvering-4-5
- Fuel Conservation-4-4
- High Speed Maneuvering-4-4
- Navigation-4-5
- Warp Drive Operation-3-4
- Covert Ops-4-0
- Gallente Frigate-5-4
- Spaceship Command-3-5
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
HALO: LANDFALL - A Neil Blomkamp short film
This film is a result of the collaboration of Bungie Studios, WETA Digital, Origami Digital, and Neill Blomkamp.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
The EVE Blog Banters
How to participate: Email me a request at CrazyKinux@gmail.com and I'll add you to my EVE Blog Banter mailing list. Then, a week before the next EVE Banter, you'll get an email with the instructions and the introduction to add at the beginning of your post. That's it! Every one is welcome to participate!
- October 29th, 2008 - Exotic Dancers, Corporate Meetings & more
- November 26th, 2008 - Space, the Final Frontier...
- December 22nd, 2008 - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
- January 30th, 2009 - The Game with the Thousand Faces
- February 27th, 2009 - Leave what you know at the door please!
- March 29th, 2009 - Nowhere to go...
- April 30th, 2009 - Eh, nobody told me you could do this in EVE!
- May 26th, 2009 - Care for a little game of SecWars?
- June 30th, 2009 - If I were a CCP Dev I would...
- July 29th, 2009 - It's just a game!
- August 31st, 2009 - The Few, the Proud, the next Tech 3 ships!
- September 30th, 2009 - Tying the dots and locking me in!
- October 27th, 2009 - Your mission, should you decide to accept it...
- January 12th, 2010 - A beginning is a very delicate time...
- January 25th, 2010 - Why We Love EVE Online [List of Participants]
- March 15th, 2010 - The Three Pillars of Wisdom
- April 19th, 2010 - The Ladies of New Eden [List of Participants]
- June 16th, 2010 - The Heroes with a Thousand Faces
- July 20th, 2010 - Growing Pains
- August 23rd, 2010 - Care for a little griefing tonight?
- September 29th, 2010 - The Lure of the Wild
- October 26th, 2010 - Home Sweet Corp
November 15th, 2010 - No Banter - December 16th, 2010 - Rome wasn't build in a day, neither was New Eden
- January 13th, 2011 - Be, all that you can be, and so much more!
- More to come...
The EVE Blogosphere is alive and well, thank you very much!
I hadn't updated my EVE Blogroll since early last February. During this time, a multitude of new EVE-themed blogs popped-up. The list below includes the ones that either emailed me directly, or posted a comment on the blogroll post itself. I do know that there a few that are missing from the list that Ga'len keeps and I promise to add them over the next few days. It's good to be back at the helm of the EVE Blogging Community. I missed the camaradrie very much over the last few months. But am now fully back!
- Corpse Collection Point
- Criminally Yours
- Escoce - EVE Trader
- EVE Guru
- EVE Online - A Ghost Blog
- EVE Online Portal (The)
- EVE-Yarr
- Fumbling in Space
- I am Keith Neilson
- In the Depths of EVE
- Into the Unknown
- Katzukov Industries
- Life of a Pirate Queen (The)
- New Eden according to the Prophet
- New Edener (The)
- Once more in the Void
- Persephone's YarrJournal
- The Eagle : The Cold : The Darkness
- Treenara's Adventures
- Tuskers Public Relations (The)
- Venom's Bite <-- Updated URL!
- Waypoint Reached
- Where ever I may roam
Friday, May 01, 2009
Friday Video: Black Prophecy Cinematic Trailer
Though this latest trailer's visuals are awe inspiring, I'm definitely not impressed with the voice over. Sounds like some sort of comedy trailer.
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Earlier this week I cleaned up the EVE Blog Pack, removing outdated blogs and adding a fresh new set of prolific EVE Online bloggers. In do...
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If I didn't track the hits to the EVE Blog Pack , and instead I measured its success based on the numbers of requests I get in comments...
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Last Update: March 16th, 2011 --- Recently Added: 11 --- Recently Removed: 0 I thought I'd also add the blogs of fellow EVE player...