The Tuskers Frigate Free-For-All II - Saturday 5 January 2013

Fantastic artwork (c) Rixx Javix.

Remember that frigate FFA we held back in October? Well, we had so darn much fun that we're doing it again. Click here to see the details on the Tuskers' public forums. We look forward to having you join us while we once again kill ALL the things.

That was in the span of 4h. We're going two hours longer this time...

Buried Alive in the Sandbox

Note: I had originally planned this post as part of Blog Banter 42, but I kept getting dragged away from writing a review of EVE and into more of a review of the community. I figured I'd put it up anyway for people to read, and may still end up doing a BB42 entry.

Note 2: Apparently, Stan thinks that this should go into the Blog Banter anyway. Thanks Stan, you're a sweetheart!

Every time I see any sort of opportunity for the playerbase to review EVE, I immediately think I'm supposed to go into Bittervet Mode, as if there's an expectation of a long-standing "CCP vs. the players" antagonism. Instead, it comes out more like this XKCD comic.

Ever since the epic backpedalling following the Walking in Stations debacle, I've been pleased to note that at least in the broad strokes, CCP seems to be addressing concerns that players bring up. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely - but I'm not convinced that it's CCP's responsibility to make it happen.

YOU ARE A PIRATE

Big thanks to the lovely Arianne Stone for reminding me of this clip. "lol, limewire" indeed.

http://cristgaming.com/pirate.swf

Re-Blog: Welcome to Lowsec

Content? Who needs content? :P More to the point, in his most recent "Welcome to Lowsec" post, Azual has perfectly explained something that's influenced my PVP ever since the first time I shot another player in a spaceship. I've never been able to describe it beyond a vague feeling of "I'm a pirate, not a griefer", but fortunately, now I can just link people to his post instead of breaking keyboards with my head as I try. (I also have to admit that, with as many times as I've seen jokes about having to revoke Azual's pirate licence, his finally just going and doing it himself was hilarious to me.)

Seriously, it's a good read.

Tuskers Frigate Free For All - October 27 (Updated with Prize Link)

Awesome banner by Rixx Javix

EDIT: Though I'm a couple of days behind in updating this and I'd be surprised if anyone used only this site as their news source (flattered, but surprised), Sulei has posted a link to the list of prizes on the Tuskers public forum. Congrats to all the winners!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event so much fun. I'm glad you all enjoyed the opportunity to kill ALL the things. For a more detailed look at the festivities, check out TG's write-up at Through Newb Eyes. I'll keep my own account brief:

At the time this screenshot was taken, 54 of the kills in the 24h total were unrelated to the Tuskers' event. Yes, only 54.

Blog Banter 40: Van Damme In Space?

While I'm not sure I'd call this a triumphant return to EVE blogging, the topic of the latest Blog Banter (BB40) caught my eye. Interstellar Blood Sports? Sounds like the everyday life of a lowsec pirate to me, I thought.

No, not THAT Bloodsport. Not even when you count that ECM drones are the blinding powder of EVE.

Upon reading further into the question, however, I quickly discovered that the commentary was intended to focus on tournaments and "eSports" in EVE Online. The next statement that popped into my head was, never mind, that's nothing like real PVP. Normally I'd have let the matter drop there with a smug return to my dinner, but on further reflection, the comment was so stuffed with my own assumptions and pre-conceptions that I couldn't resist poking at it to see what came out.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

I don't think four months is the longest I've ever gone without posting, but the time that's passed since I last wrote in May has managed to be both quiet and extremely eventful at the same time. I've been out of EVE completely more often than not over the past three months due to a slew of RL troubles, which have only recently begun stabilising. In the past couple of weeks, however, the relative malaise of my internet spaceships time has turned around significantly.