EON Issue #014 is traveling the snail gates of Gaia

It's not every day that you get to see your name printed on the official EVE Online site - twice on the same day! - and I'm not referring to the forum section and all that CK spam! For this latest issue of EON, I had the pleasure of being tortured by Zapatero to write... let rephrase that. I had the honor of writing about my experience at the EVE Fanfest 2008, which was a first, and hopefully not the last, for me.

It was a lot of fun to think back and relive some of those memories in order for me to write that article. Fanfests are an amazing experience, which everyone and anyone involved in EVE should live at least once!

Hopefully with the article, I'll manage to share enough of the experience to get your mojo flowing and get you to travel to the top of the world, in a cold, cloudy and humid realm, and have the best time of your life!

See you there in November!

Here's what else to expect in this latest issue of EON.

THE JOY OF TECHS

This issue we peer into the imminent future (or look to the very recent past, depending on whether you’re reading this before or after 10th March 09), at the building blocks of the many thousands of potential Tech III ships that will be appearing via explorable wormholes as part of EVE's tenth expansion this coming spring. With CCP providing the parts, we ask how the ships will be glued together, how their attributes will be determined and what special features might make them worth investing in when the time comes. We theorise at what might be at the end of the wormholes themselves that are making Tech III a possibility.

FIRST-TIME FANFEST

After one of the most spectacular Fanfests so far, EVE blogger CrazyKinux re-lives the experience of what was his first; from the puzzled look from friends and family concerned for his sanity for wanting to travel to Iceland to meet a bunch of spaceship nerds, to the mild hangover after four days of blowing away every preconception they had. Without giving too much away, we reckon CK quite enjoyed his first trip to Fanfest.

THE ONE AND ONLY

While much of this issue focuses on the future and looking ahead to Tech III, we remember that Tech I still has much to offer: in Testflight, Sivona climbs aboard EVE's unloved logistics cruisers to see if they have a role on the modern battlefield, whilst Karox Lominax escapes the melee and rustles up a guide to manufacturing and production.

PLUS

• The definitive made-up history of dev band RoXoR
• Profiles of Band of Brothers, TornSoul, Atlas Alliance, Archbishop and Ivy League
• Insider’s Guide to boosters
• E-ON Award nominees revealed
• Serenity Steele’s Quarterly Alliance Report
• A chance to win the new board game, EVE: Conquests
• Interviews with CCP’s Abraxas and Lúlli Teiknari
• Blogs, Essentials and Resources for pirates
• Two exclusive new Chronicles

...and all the latest news

Congrats to Karox and Flashfresh for being part of this one too. And yes, to you too Winterblink. We all know you crave a good Carebear hug!

EVE Blog Banter #3: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Welcome to the third installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by yours truly. 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 other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
This month's EVE Blog Banter comes to us from Roc Wieler of Roc's Ramblings. Roc's asks us to "write a story about a fellow EVE Blogger, or an EVE player whom has inspired you or affected you in some tangible way. After your story, describe why you chose them, and any Holiday wish you have specifically for them".

Wow, that's a tough one! One EVE Blogger, eh? One player, just one? That would be impossible in my case, because there's more than one individual who has influenced me in doing what I do for the EVE community.

EON Issue #013 should be on its way soon

Well it looks like the latest issue of my favorite magazine is about to ship out. The EON store was updated earlier this week, as was Zapatero's blog, who also got a major overhaul. Nice job Zapatero! Now you just need to find some time in your schedule to blog more often.

Getting back to EON though, it seems that we'll be getting a few more details on the upcoming Midas Expansion, which is the next one to be released. Where's Ambulation then? I can't wait for both, and though Ambulation will certainly add to the experience, Midas will have a greater impact on the game. As such, I can't wait to read about it and start planning for it.

Carebears FTW!

So here's what we can look forward to in this next issue:

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

The theme for this issue of E-ON is the economy. Yes, we know it's all doom and gloom in the real world, but in EVE things are actually doing OK. Thing is, not everyone understands how it all works, yet perhaps we all should, beyond the buy low/sell high mantra that some like to wheel out to prove they've got it all figured out.

Like some great unseen power, the economy of EVE surrounds and penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together. Luckily we've found someone who can teach us all about its mysterious ways without continually putting nouns before adjectives and spouting lots of voodoo nonsense... and he isn't all that diminutive either. And, no, we're not referring to CCP Chronotis, who kindly lets us in on CCP's thinking behind what will be the focus of the coming winter expansion, and why even those who might have already dismissed it as one for carebears should sit up and take notice.

CHRONICLES ARE BACK

After a short break from fiction last issue, we have two new Chronicles for you to enjoy - ‘The High Garden’ and ‘Before’. Not only that but all subscribers to the magazine will get a collection of six postcards adorned with classic E-ON Chronicle artwork sent for free with their caring, sharing E-ON. It's actually been a fair while since we gave away postcards - it was back with the second issue of E-ON in early 2006, which also had a great chronicle picture on page 56. No, wait, come back!

BIASNESS AS USUAL

The EVE Tribune has been reporting on what's been going on in and out of EVE almost as long as E-ON has, rummaging through the bins of EVE's rich and famous and upsetting all and sundry with war reports that may or may not be as accurate as some would like. Love 'em or hate 'em, they deserve a lot of respect though, and E-ON duly steps up to tell the tale of Tribune. Mr M doesn't reveal all on page three, but he comes close.

A GUIDING HAND

As if a guide to EVE's economy wasn't enough, we have Sivona trying out the best Faction Cruisers, a meandering and enlightening journey through Factional Warfare and a run through all the methods that you can employ to figure out where to go, and how to plan, in EVE should you be in travelling mood.

PLUS

Details of the EVE: Conquests board game The first Quarterly Alliance Report Profiles on Mercenary Coalition, Paxton Federation and Caeruleum Alliance CCP's Lingorm and Mindstar talk QA Jade Constantine's links (that sounds so wrong) ...and lots of other stuff

Don't forget those great, free Chronicle art postcards (for subscribers only)

Sharing a few pints with Zapatero

My visit to London provided me with an opportunity to meet in person a chap I've known "virtually" for some time now, but whom I had not had the chance to meet in person. None other than Zapatero, EON's editor. Well, yesterday we had the chance to share a few pints, talk about EVE, EON, fan fest, life in the UK and much more. It was a lot of fun, and let me tell that the guy is as friendly and well humored as comes across in the EON editorials.

Here's to sharing a few more pints Zapatero. And this time it'll be in Reykjavik for the fan fest. See you in November!

Cheers mate!

EON Alliance survey now live!

My mates Zapatero, Editor of EON magazine, on behalf on Nate Combs (the other mate), EVE Online's representative over at Terra Nova, are conducting an alliance survey to better understand the motivations of players and the effort needed in getting such a large group of players to work together.

As Zapatero puts it:

To help us further in our understanding I've put together a survey to find out what people's opinions are about their own alliances and alliances in general. The survey does not ask for any character or alliance names so everything is very anonymous.

So head on over to >> complete the survey <<. And this goes for anyone who's ever been part of an alliance, whether you're still in it or not.

The survey will close 10am GMT on Feb 18th. The results will be studied and used within an article we have planned for the next issue of the magazine. Soon after publication the data will be made available to the entire community.

Zap, you owe me a pint!