The Safe Spot — Episode 16: Rixx Javix's 18 Years in EVE Online

Rixx's been flying around New Eden for 18 years, so this episode turned into a look back at how he got here and why he still undocks. We also get into my recent hauling adventures, the things EVE keeps teaching us, and a few ideas we’re saving for another day.

The Safe Spot — Episode 10: "Black Rise Regional News"

Ten episodes! 10!!

I honestly can't believe we've hit double digits. Most podcast series — EVE or otherwise — never make it past the first handful before fading out, so the fact that Rixx and I are still here, still recording, and still having an absolute blast feels like a milestone worth celebrating. 

And we're not slowing down. No siree, Bob! 

We've got so much more in store.

So, in this episode we welcome Black Rise Regional News — let's call him "Burn" short for BRRN — to The Safe Spot. Burn is a Caldari faction warfare pilot, UCN director, and the creator behind one of EVE's most unique written content projects: a regional newspaper covering the wars, politics, and shenanigans of Black Rise and surrounding space. 

Rixx and I dig into how Burn went from flu-ridden backlog gamer to militia diplomat and propagandist-in-chief, and I listen in while the two of them swap faction warfare war stories along the way. 

I mostly listened and took notes on this one — these two had a lot to talk about!

Speedlinking New Eden — June 7th, 2026

The week New Eden held its breath.

That's the only way I can describe it. Seven days, almost no major announcements, no lore bombs, no surprise developer streams — and yet the whole EVE ecosystem felt coiled, tense, pointed at one fixed date: Tuesday, June 9th, 11:00 UTC. 

The Cradle of War expansion drops in less than 48 hours and the pre-launch machinery ran full-tilt this past week: expansion notes published early, a developer roundtable posted to YouTube, and the Mastery Pack sale running down to its last hours.

Oh, and NoizyGamer quietly dropped some of the most interesting player-retention data of the year. We'll get to that in a minute.

Let's jump right in.

The Safe Spot — Episode 9: "Featuring Oz"

Hey everyone, we're back after what felt like forever. I got pulled into the Habs' Stanley Cup run (no shame, that was a hell of a series for our Montreal Canadiens), and we finally sat down for episode 9 with our very first official guest: Oz. 

Both Rixx and I were genuinely stoked about opening the format up to guests, and even more so that Oz agreed to be the first one through the door. I came in with way too many questions lined up like a checklist, and Rixx, true to form, just rolled with the conversation in full Buccaneer bravado. 

Very different styles, yet somehow it worked. 

The Safe Spot — Episode 8: "Our EVE Fanfest 2026 reaction"

This one's our reaction episode to EVE Fanfest 2026, which wrapped up the day before we recorded. Rixx and I sat down Sunday evening to talk through everything — the Polaris Award he picked up while not even being in Iceland, the Cradle of War reveal, the Google DeepMind sit-down, where Vanguard and Frontier are headed, and a pile of asides along the way. 

It's a long one, but a good one. 

Pour something cold (or hot, in Rixx's case) and dig in.😂

Speedlinking New Eden & more - The May 17th, 2026 edition

Back in the heydays of this EVE blog, I used to do this thing called the "Speedlinking New Eden", which was a weekly wrap-up of EVE Online news, and then some. So with the excitement around the Fenris Creations rebrand, the Google DeepMind announcement and EVE Fanfest 2026 wrapping up, I thought I'd rekindle this initiative. 

Fanfest week. Three days of keynotes, reveals, and blood donations (yes, literally). Fenris Creations came out swinging with a three-expansion arc, a new extraction shooter playtest, a survival sandbox reset, and enough coverage to keep you scrolling for a week. 

Let's go.

What DeepMind's partnership could actually mean for EVE's future

Earlier this week I wrote about the Google DeepMind and Fenris Creations partnership and came away cautiously excited. So I took Friday off from work to make sure I could watch the LIVE broadcast from the Harpa Concert Hall. Then earlier today, Hilmar and DeepMind's Adrian Bolton took the Fanfest stage for 'The Infinite Game' session, and I walked away with considerably less. 

The above video was added on Fenris Creations channel on May 25th, 2026. I thought I'd add it here for full context.

Like a lot of those who listened in, I came away fairly empty-handed from that conversation. Not disappointed, but very much hungry for more. As in a lot more. Yes, yes, there was lots of framing, lots of "excitement" about the partnership's potential, about AI lifting the popularity of games like Chess and Go, but very little about what it actually means for the game we play. 

So I thought I could give it a try myself and dive into how I'm hoping DeepMind's research could realistically be applied and leveraged in EVE. Basically trying to add the substance that was missing from their talk. Trying to imagine what that near future could be.

I'm probably going to be way off mark, then again maybe not. We'll see.

But I thought I could give it a try. 

Here goes nothing...

What's ahead in this post:

• NPCs that actually adapt to how you fly — not harder stats, different behaviour
• An AI-powered NPE in Exordium that keeps rookies alive past the two-hour quit window and hands them off to real player run corporations
• Dynamic universe events that respond to what players are doing, not what a designer scripted
• Behind-the-scenes economic modeling that could make balance patches less painful
• The stuff I think people are overhyping — and why TiDi probably isn't going anywhere

It's a long read, but if you care about where New Eden is headed, you'll want to stick around.
So grab a coffee, tea or a cold one, and let's dive in.

The Safe Spot — Episode 7: "Pearl Abyss & Fanfest"

Big news this episode — Pearl Abyss is selling CCP Games back to its own leadership team, and Rixx and I break down what that means for EVE Online, Frontier, and Vanguard. 

We also look ahead to Fanfest 2026 (which neither of us is attending this year, don't judge), swap some FanFest war stories from years past, geek out over the EVE Faction Warfare Yearbook, touch on the brand-new Capsuleer Days event, and Rixx shares a couple of PvP encounters that remind us all why you check local and never fly what you can't afford to lose.

When CCP snubs its most dedicated creator, it's not just his loss — it's ours

First things first: congratulations to every creator who made the EVE Creator Awards shortlist. This is CCP's first crack at a formal recognition program, and the names on that list represent real work, real passion, and real contributions to New Eden. 

Well deserved, all of you!

This post isn't about any of them. It's about a name that's missing.

Earlier today, CCP Games published the finalists for the EVE Creator Awards — eight categories covering streamers, video creators, podcasters, writers, app developers, and more. It's a genuine effort to celebrate what makes this community unique. But when I scrolled through all forty finalists, one absence hit me immediately.

Rixx Javix is nowhere on this list.

Clipped wings, new teeth: Refitting the Sunesis after the Catalyst nerf

Three days. That's how long my "Learning to Fly" post lasted before CCP clipped my wings.

I'd just finished writing about the Sunesis — my fast-align small hauler, Athena's Wings — and how she could haul almost 1,200 m³ of cargo while warping in 1.75 seconds. Sub-two. Practically uncatchable. The whole point of the ship.

Then the Catalyst major update dropped on March 18th, and CCP decided the Sunesis had been having too much fun.

CCP's 2026 War Plan: Big promises, thin specifics (for now)

By now, you've almost certainly heard about CCP's plan for 2026. If not, there's plenty of coverage to catch up on — MassivelyOP, ShackNews, and MMORPG all have writeups, and fellow EVE bloggers like The Ancient Gaming Noob have already weighed in. But after spending a full hour watching the "Directors' Letter Chat: 2026 & Beyond," and then going over the news items, I wanted to add my own take to the pile. 

Fair warning: there's a mountain of content to unpack here, so settle in.

Back through the wormhole: rediscovering New Eden years later

A funny thing happened when I started cleaning up my blog a few weeks back. I was just “archiving” old EVE Online posts, fixing dead links, swapping in updated YouTube videos… totally innocent stuff. Right... And then, somehow, I found myself dropped straight into the deep end of the nostalgia pool. One minute I’m fixing a broken link or looking for a working link to an EVE Fanfest video, the next I’m getting bombarded with “Come back to EVE!” ads like Hilmar had personally noticed my footsteps into my EVE archived content.

And honestly? The pull was too strong. 

Mix in that "Making of EVE Online" documentary, and the full-on marketing push for Catalyst, CCP’s latest expansion, and resisting New Eden became a losing battle. So I took a peek. Just a tiny one. And, well, you can guess where this is going.

I’ve only been back in the game for, what, the better part of a week now? But it already feels like that surreal combination of coming home and discovering someone completely renovated the place. Sort of like driving by your childhood home. The neighborhood layout is the same… everything else has been upgraded.

Friday Video: Could this be a new DUST 514 Trailer by CCP Games?

OK, clearly the video below - Mass Effect 3 Trailer - isn't the one we're all anticipating. But it does have that dirty, gritty, war-is-a-shit-whole feeling to it, which is what I expect the next DUST 514 trailer will look like. Based on the only DUST 514 trailer CCP has been so kind to release (over a year ago I might add - and nothing since!) we can certainly expect a very polished FPS. Let's just hope that it will have the appeal and breadth of the Mass Effect series!

If you were CCP, what sort of trailer would you release to really get people's attention? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that one!


Hope you'll forgive the tease! Fly safe!

The Top 10 EVE Online Videos of all time! [VIDEO]

I was recently made aware of a top ten video listing ( Top 10 Animated Children’s Movies of All Time ) which got me thinking about all those amazing videos that have been released over the last few years, both from CCP Games themselves, but especially those made by the fans. That got me thinking: what would a Top Ten listing look like for EVE videos? The listing below is my pick — but it's only a tiny sample of the amazing talent in the EVE Community!

What's your Top Ten?

#10 – Day of Darkness (Original)

#9 – No Other Destiny (CCP)

#8 – Permaband – HTFU (CCP) Couldn't help myself!

#7 – War Has Come to EVE

#6 – DUST 514 (CCP)

#5 – Tyrannis Trailer (CCP)

#4 – The Butterfly Effect (CCP)

#3 – Tortuga – Lacrimosa

#2 – Future Proof

#1 – Day of Darkness II

EVE Blog Banter 20: Care for a little griefing tonight?

Welcome to the twentieth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, 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 to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

With the recent completion of the 3rd installment of the Hulkageddon last July, @CyberinEVE, author of Hands Off, My Loots!, asks: "Grieving is a very big part of EVE. Ninja Salvaging, Suicide Ganking, Trolling, and Scamming are all a very large part of the game. What do you think about all these things? You can talk about one, or all...but just let us know your overall opinion on Grieving, and any recommendations you may have to change it if you think it's needed."

[Though I was not able to participate in our last EVE Blog Banter due to RL conflicts, I still wanted to have it up with the list of participants. The next Banter promises to be a great topic and I will be part of it!]

Participants:

1. Blog Banter #20 Spoiled Children « Roc's Ramblings
2. Griefing, Ninja Salvaging, Suicide Ganking, Trolling, and Scamming | Nitpickin's
3. Blog Banter: SPACE POLIC HARASSMANT.
4. Guns Ablaze » Blog Archive » [EBB 20] Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked
5. EVE Blog Banter #20: Griefing, Ninja Salvaging, Suicide Ganking, Trolling, and Scamming
6. Victoria Aut Mors » Blog Archive » Blog Banter 20. Quit Yer Damn Whining!
7. EVE Blog Banter #20: A Very Simple Proposal | Venoms Bite
8. where the frack is my ship?: Blog Banter #20 : Think like a Capsuleer
9. Out of pod experience - 20th Blog Banter: You’re a Griefer, NO You’re a Griefer!
10. 2010 August 23 « Industrial Crisis
11. Adventures in Mission Running » Blog Archive » Blog Banter: Good Grief!
12. Blog banter #20: Griefing, not just for the tears « Diary of a Pod Pilot
13. Blag Banter #20: “Griefing” | Sarnelbinora's Blog
14. (OOC) CK’s Blog Banter #20: Griefing And Changing. « Prano's Journey
15. Vive Virtual: Motivated Grief
16. BB20 – A Shifting Opinion | Shifter's Mumbles
17. Fiddler's Edge: EVE Blog Banter #20: Pirates and Griefers
18. Banter 20: Scamwiches- Chocolate Heaven
19. mikeazariah » Blog Archive » BB 20 Blaming the victim
20. Freebooted: Dear God, Please Kill Them All
21. The Anti-Griefer « Revolting Carebears
22. Latro's Bunker: EVE Blog Banter #20
23. Blog Banter on Griefing: Express Yourself
24. Griefing… a Blog Banter | Diary of a Garbageman
25. Blog Banter #20: The Joy of Loss « Evil Silents
26. Did I miss anyone?

EVE Online "Causality" Video - Part of the Universal Glory Sweepstake

CCP Games just released their latest trailer, called '"Causality", the spiritual offspring of "The Butterfly Effect". And with the release comes a very interesting sweepstake with some cool prize. So pay close attention while watching the video and head over to their contest site to participate! Good luck to all!

EVE Blog Banter #19: Growing Pains

Welcome to the nineteenth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, 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 to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This months topic comes to us from @evepress, who he asks: The CSM: CCP's Meta Game? The CSM, an EVE players voice to CCP. Right? In the grand scheme of things yes, the players bring up issues and the CSM presents them to CCP. But in its current iteration the CSM was supposed to be given small authority to assign CCP assets to projects that the CSM thought needed work on. As it has come out, this was not the case. So fellow bloggers, is the CSM worth it, has the CSM improved the game in any way, or is it just a well thought out scam by CCP to give us players a false sense of input in the game? What's your take?

Talk about a loaded question!

The Best "Behind the Scenes of CCP Games" Videos

Having recently gone through all of the videos of the Final Day of the Alliance Tournament 8, I've had a chance to see some rather cool videos of what happens at CCP. Below you'll find all 3 "Behind-the-Scenes" videos - on Planetary Interaction, Making EVE Trailers and Recruitement. If you haven't had a time to see them, they're well worth the time!







Sweet n'est-ce pas!

Did I Miss Anything: The New and Improved CCP Games?

OK, so I know I've been busy these last few days running a few contests and reading a plethora of great entries, but am I the only one who missed the relaunch of CCPGames.com? One developer, three games, three worlds? Check these screen captures and see for yourself the new site!

EVE Online

DUST 514

World of Darkness

Intriguing eh!

Have you seen Treenara's new look?

On the left the old Treenara - On the right the new Treenara

I've been playing the same character, Treenara Mazouk, since October of 2004. What you might not know this, but Tree (that's what my corp mates call her) was not my first character. My first character saw the day in August of 2004, her name was Saoundra Meezo, she was Amarr. I've always had a preference for the Amarr, both in their dramatic character looks and in their ship designs. But shortly after starting off in New Eden, some buddies of mine created Gallente characters. Since I wanted to play with them and did not want to travel all the way to Gallente space, I simply "rolled" a new character, and Treenara was born.

Fast forward 6 years and though my friends no longer roam New Eden, Treenara is still my faithful companion and will shortly hit the 60 million skill points! Suffice to say her "looks" have become something very familiar to me. And so earlier this week, I decided to give her a little makeover and took advantage of CCP's Character Portrait Swapping. After creating a new character of the same gender, race and bloodline, I proceeded to do the swap for a mere $10 fee.

Though I was all excited about the change, even after a few days, the old portraits still have yet to change. And I know all about deleting the portrait folder and all that. The forum avatar still shows the old portrait, and even the API feed used by EVEMon still has the old Treenara.

I'm hoping that I won't have to wait much longer for the switch to occur. I just don't see myself waiting until Incarna for Treenara's look to get refreshed! Where are those Icelandic Trolls when you need them! Where's my $10 value?