STAR FRACTION MORE LIEK LAME FRACTION AMIRITE LOL

I've stated before that there are several things I hate because they make Eve-Online combat suck. I partake in them and I use them to my advantage on occasion as well but I still hate them and I try to discourage/avoid them when possible. A few these sucky things are:

(1) Blobbing - Bringing numbers and firepower to a fight to the point that your opponent cannot possibly fight back in any reasonable manner.

(2) Capital Ships In Lowsec - Because their roles don't fit into the small scale combat that is more common in lowsec. I've commented specifically on how I feel about Carriers before but let's add Titans to the list now as well.

(3) Faction Warfare - Because all they do is generate giant blobs of talentless and skilless pilots that run around hoping to target and fire their guns once to be on a killmail as they gank non-FW related targets in 50-versus-2 fights.

So what happens when all these sucky items are utilized in combination? You wind up with kills such as these:

http://pcmk2.griefwatch.net/?p=details&kill=7699

http://pcmk2.griefwatch.net/?p=details&kill=7803

This is the Star Fraction, an alliance of Role-Players who are aligned with the Minmitar Tribal Liberation Force, using a Titan to jump bridge battleship fleets on top of us in several different situations in lowsec over the past few days. The first kill is perhaps understandable. A Macherial is a very high value target and you need decent firepower to destroy an aggressed battleship before it is able to redock. The second situation however was absolutely absurd. During an entertaining fight versus a Myrmidon and his friends in the renound Amamake Planet III - Asteroid Belt I, Star Fraction Titan jump-bridged a battleship gang on top of the group.


For anyone not familiar with the Titan jump bridge capability, here is an explanation (from the Eve-Wiki):

Titans are the largest ship type in EVE. They can perform the same fleet functions and support roles as the Mothership (Cloning, Ship maintenance arrays, Ship/Items hangars), and are the only capital ships which can create jump portals through use of the Jump Bridge Array, which enables escort and support ships to move from system to system without the aid of a stargate. Even though a Titan is a massive logistical advantage for the individual or corporation who possesses one, using a Titan in a combat role is often seen as undesirable. While large, their defensive and offensive capabilities are still overshadowed by the Dreadnought and Mothership class capital ships. They do, however, have the capacity to provide more logistical support to a fleet from behind the front lines than any other capital ship, especially when it concerns the Jump Bridge Array.

Perhaps one of the funniest things related to these drops is a quote I found when looking up information about their alliance. From their very own website:

We have no desire to hold territory or allow a static infrastructure to impede us. We are under no obligation to police or restrict space and maintain no interest in POS deployment contests and tedious blob warfare. The Star Fraction is a highly mobile and ideologically motivated guerrilla warfare operation that prizes flair and courage alongside tactical skill and innovative combined ops strategies. Small unit engagement and rapid tactical response is our specialty: combat where the individual has an opportunity to shine and pilot skill truly matters.

Really. Hot dropping battleship fleets onto individual ships or small gangs using a jump bridge truly shows invidual pilot skill? If I had to guess I would assume that the only individual skill any of their members shows is when they get home from a hard day of blobbing and start sticking their genitals into an assortment of each others body cavities. Use your imagination as to what I am trying to say by that.

I am saying they like to stick their penises in each others butts:


Fuck you, Star Fraction.

I'm A Lost Cause To Humanity

The other day I flew my alt to a nearby trade hub to purchase a new ship. While I was there, I noticed that my wallet was below a threshold that I am happy with and decided to try something that I had not tried in a while and never had huge success with in the past anyhow. I was going to try something that many people did but most people didn't admit to. Something that could be more profitable than any mission, asteroid or ransom. I was going to try my hand at scamming.

The original intent wasn't to make a big deal of it. See if I could make a few ISK and then fly home with my new ship a few minutes later. It was so addicting so quickly that I wound up staying and continuing to grow my business for the next few days. The method that I used was one that Lanissum taught me and has already outlined in his own blog but I will elaborate on it here as well for clarity:


A Simple And Effective Way To Scam:

The idea here is to trick people into thinking that a ship you are selling them is in fact it's faction counterpart. Personally, I attempt to sell Megathrons and Vexors as Megathron Navy Issues and Vexor Navy Issues. All you really need to be able to pull this off is the capital to buy a few of each ship and the ability to "make active" or sit in the ship so that you can rename it. You can use any character to do this but most prefer using an anonymous alt.

The steps:

(1) Go to a busy trade hub and enter the main station where everyone usually goes to do business (ie: Planet 4, Moon 4 in Jita).

(2) Select the "Guests" in the station window. Go down the entire list, selecting 10 pilots at a time using Ctrl or Shift. Right click once they are all selected and select the "Send Message" option.

(3) Send an Eve-Mail that states you are selling Navy Megathrons and Navy Vexors. It is best to list a price and give some sort of reason as to why you are selling them on the cheap but it is really up to your personal style. Go down the list and do as many people as you want but realize that if you do too many, too fast, you may wind up with more conversations going at once then you can handle.

(4) Sit and wait for responses. When people do respond, act normal and act like you're selling legitimate ships. Most people will not fall for it but when you are contacting hundreds of people in a short period, a few are bound to bite. When you do suck someone into your scam, make sure the trade is done via the trade window and not contracts. This makes it difficult for someone that isn't paying attention to notice that your Megathron Navy Issue is really just a Megathron named "Megathron Navy Issue".

(5) Bask in the ISK and the hatemail because believe me, you will get a lot of both if you're doing it right.


How I Fared Trying This Over The Past Week:

A picture is worth a thousand words so I'll just tell you that last week I had a little under a billion ISK and today my wallet looks like this:

Some of the money was spent and some was given away to my corp-mates. Had I not spent or given any away, the number would probably be closer to five-billion ISK. I estimate in total that I moved over fifteen Megathrons and around the same number in Vexors. Most of my work was done in a single trade hub but I moved around between three and made some sales in all of them. It was surprisingly effective and several members of my corp noticed my success and jumped in on the action as well. As an entire corp we probably had an income of nearly 10 billion ISK scamming using the above method in the past five days.


The Types Of Responses You Get To Doing This:

Response Type #1: No response at all. Most people fall into this category and don't bother to reply, probably because they don't care about your offer or they know it's a scam right off the bat.

Response Type #2: You get blown off immediately. They send you a mail saying "No Thanks", "No Thanks Scammer" or "Fuck Off You Fucking Cocksucker".

2009.10.27 23:26
nice scam bro

Response Type #3: You get mild, cautious interest but they bail out once they realize that the ships in the trade window are not actually faction or that you're not willing to make the deal via contracts.

[04:45:18 ] BeeShuu > can u make a contract for me? to bayer22 thats my money dude
[04:45:30 ] ScamAlt> all my slots are used up on other contracts
[04:46:20 ] BeeShuu > ahh damn alright let me log him on
[04:46:22 ] ScamAlt> can trade in station though
[04:46:23 ] ScamAlt> k
[04:48:53 ] BeeShuu > ok i got the money on this account but i'll only buy through a buy contract. so if you really not scamming, which is a rare possibility ill put up a buy contract and u can accept it or else good try :)
[04:49:12 ] ScamAlt> i have no contract slots open and i am not scamming
[04:49:15 ] ScamAlt> its just a navy mega
[04:49:30 ] ScamAlt> Megathron Navy Issue
[04:49:32 ] ScamAlt> thats the ship
[04:49:37 ] BeeShuu > u don't have to have a contract slot open to accept one
[04:49:53 ] BeeShuu > there
[04:50:03 ] ScamAlt> theyre not free :/
[04:50:43 ] BeeShuu > i'll only buy through contract

Response Type #4: They fall for the trap and then realize afterward that you scammed them. Sometimes they're amazed. Sometimes they're amused. Most of the time they are ANGRY:

[22:31:50 ] Antiochus Soter > nice scamming scammer
[22:31:53 ] Antiochus Soter > learn to sux less
[22:32:12 ] ScamAlt> im just trying to put food on the table
[22:32:14 ] ScamAlt> just like any other businessman
[22:32:19 ] Antiochus Soter > false
[22:32:28 ] Antiochus Soter > run missions
[22:32:35 ] Antiochus Soter > go mine
[22:33:05 ] ScamAlt> you could never understand the hardships i must endure

2009.10.26 04:49
i cant believe i fell for that and i kno im not getting money back but i guess i deserve it for being so careless lol. good luck with other people


2009.10.26 23:48
Hey I want my money back man. C'mon thats friggin low. I'd never do that to somebody. I could have used that to buy a PLEX, instead I give it to you and you friggin scam me. At least have the respect to honour your deal. Why would you do such a thing? I spent time training for the ship you supposedly sold me and it was a scam. Please, that was a lot of money for me.


2009.10.27 01:52
Really!!!
You're a lost cause to humanity. That's fucking low, I again trusted you, but checked through the contract carefully this time. Which you sadly taught me I have to do every time now. ANyhow, I've met thousands of people in my lifetime and I'm very VERY glad I don't know you. From how you are in this game tells me a lot about how you are as a person. And obviously you know that I trust easily. Because people where I'm from don't treat others that way. It's fucking wrong, it would have just been funny if you really would have paid me back. So goodluck in life, someday you'll realize there's more to EVE than scamming people in stations. And oh yeah, watch your back, I know Im covered because I treat others with respect and they'll pay me back, but people like you will end up on the wrong end of things. Mark my words.....................take a long look at yourself.

[05:29:23] MasterParty > wow you piece of shit
[05:29:25] MasterParty > you got me
[05:29:29] MasterParty > wow im fucking amazed
[05:29:35] ScamAlt> enjoy
[05:29:43] MasterParty > wow
[05:30:04] MasterParty > wow and noob corp
[05:30:08] MasterParty > nicely done
[05:30:09] ScamAlt> yes
[05:30:10] ScamAlt> thanks friend
[05:30:28] MasterParty > i dont even know what to say tbh
[05:30:50] MasterParty > well you had your laugh want to return it?
[05:30:58] ScamAlt> hahah i hadnt laughed yet
[05:31:02] ScamAlt> but i did now that you asked for your money back
[05:31:52] MasterParty > well your a fucking asshole thats about all i have to say

Response Type #5: They fall for it and don't even realize it. They might actually fly the ship around thinking that it's a navy ship and thank you days later for the awesome deal you gave them. In some cases they might even tell their friends who also buy four more ships and wind up handing you 1.4 billion ISK for five Megathrons.

[15:24:52] Djavo > Hi
[15:24:57] ScamAlt> hey there!
[15:25:07] ScamAlt> they are not fitted
[15:25:08] ScamAlt> just empty ships
[15:25:47] Djavo > kk hm i got not enough for both just got 285 mio atm because i lost my five +5 imps this week^^
[15:25:56 ] ScamAlt> ouch man that stucks :/
[15:25:59 ] ScamAlt> sucks i mean
[15:26:09 ] ScamAlt> i guess i could make a deal, i do just want to get rid of these
[15:26:13 ] ScamAlt> would you do 275 for a navy mega?
[15:27:08 ] Djavo > kk 275 is a good price
[15:27:57 ] ScamAlt> i dont have any contract slots atm, can you dock at dodixie 9-20 and ill trade?
[15:28:14 ] Djavo > kk i am in dodie in 5 mins
[15:28:19 ] ScamAlt> ok no prob :) ill be here
[15:30:31 ] Djavo > i am at dodiexie 20
[15:30:58 ] ScamAlt> Dodixie IX - Moon 20
[15:31:02 ] ScamAlt> the main station in dodixie :)
[15:31:09 ] Djavo > jep
[15:31:11 ] ScamAlt> hehe
[15:31:45 ] Djavo > kk trade me on^^
[15:32:31 ] ScamAlt> enjoy :)
[15:32:35 ] Djavo > k ty^^
[15:33:15 ] Djavo > hm i should ask you from a friend how much mega navy you got again?
[15:33:27 ] ScamAlt> ive got a few more
[15:33:36] ScamAlt> he wants one?
[15:34:13] Djavo > hm yes he said but he send me even the money
[15:34:18] ScamAlt> ok no prob
[15:34:25] ScamAlt> 350 mil or is he looking for the special price too...? :P
[15:34:39] Djavo > i think he is looking for the special price^^
[15:35:06] ScamAlt> lol
[15:35:11] ScamAlt> you guys are going to bankrupt me
[15:35:13] ScamAlt> but fine
[15:36:48] Djavo > hehe^^
[15:37:12] Djavo > the whole corp want buy for that price but i said them just one more for this price^^
[15:37:22] ScamAlt> 350 mil is my normal price
[15:37:28] ScamAlt> i am really just trying to clear out stock though
[15:37:31] ScamAlt> i am moving out of dodixie
[15:37:42] ScamAlt> i have a few more megas if people want them and id be willing to do 275mil for them all for your corp
[15:38:23] ScamAlt> how many people wanted ships?
[15:38:41] Djavo > i ask even ^^^
[15:40:29] Djavo > k how much megas you got again?
[15:40:36] ScamAlt> 4 left
[15:40:42] Djavo > k i buy all
[15:40:45] ScamAlt> wow ok
[15:40:50] Djavo > each for 275
[15:40:54] ScamAlt> one sec
[15:40:56] Djavo > = 1,1 billion
[15:42:12] ScamAlt> grabbing last one
[15:42:17] Djavo > kk i wait^^
[15:42:29] ScamAlt> ok there we go
[15:43:24] Djavo > wait
[15:43:34] Djavo > need new price in^^
[15:43:39] ScamAlt> k
[15:43:50] Djavo > was just 110 mio^^
[15:43:57] ScamAlt> yea its tough when you cant see the ,
[15:44:04] ScamAlt> bad interface by ccp XD
[15:44:44] Djavo > so ty for trade^^
[15:44:47] ScamAlt> enjoy man
[15:44:48] ScamAlt> :)
[15:44:52] ScamAlt> tell your corpmates to have fun
[15:45:00] Djavo > ty so much^^

[01:36:01] Djavo > its all ok with you? ty for our deal before 2 days;)


Conclusion:

The conclusion is that I made so much money that I couldn't even keep track of how much money I made. It was a small amount of effort compared to what it would take via other means to make this much ISK. It is one of the most morally unaccepted methods of making ISK in a game that is chock-ful of morally questionable acts and I assume that I am going to probably get at least a few scalding comments to this very post. I will be most unpleased if I do not get at least one arrogant and self-righteous comment from Leon VanUber.


Related Links:

- Hallan Turrek noticed a chatlog I posted in one of my recent posts about the very first scam I did in this group of scams over the past week. I scammed a guy for two Megathrons and Hallan assumed this meant I had lied to him during our CSM interview when I said that I had never scammed for more than a few hundred million. He felt compelled to write a blog post about this on his blog before contacting me in which case I could have cleared things up.

- Andrea Skye joined in on the scamming as well for a short period. He made over a billion ISK which was enough to buy and fit his dream ship, a Macherial. Only a few minutes after he was done setting it up and the first time he ever undocked it, it was surprise buttraped by a large gang of battleships that were cyno'd in via a Pilgrim. I have never, ever in my days playing Eve seen this happen. I am told it can be done somehow with a jump-bridge. On his blog he states that it was karma for the scamming but I simply think it was a case of having an attention grabbing faction ship undocked in the wrong place at the wrong time.

- Xiphos83 won the chance to interview CCP Hammerhead a few months back and the interview is finally up on CrazyKinux's blog. I get a nice shout-out during one of the questions not to mention that there are a lot of good questions asked about lowsec and piracy. Thanks Xiphos!

Pop Quiz (Or Why I Won't Be Running For CSM)

This quiz is multiple choice. Please mark your answer down clearly with a No. 2 pencil. Calculators are not allowed and cheating will not be tolerated.

Question

What kind of in-game action or activity would warrant this sort of response to a CSM application:

Hi,

Thank you for your interest in the Council of Stellar Management. Unfortunately we are unable to accept your application for candidacy for the fourth Council of Stellar Management due to recent violations of the End User License Agreement associated with your account(s). Should you wish to stand as a candidate in any future CSM elections, you will be free to do so unless there are further violations of the EVE Online EULA.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Kveðja / With regards
CCP Diagoras
CCP Research and Statistics

Option (A)

Scamming some random poor soul out of 650 million ISK and then rubbing it in via extreme sarcasm and taunting:

[14:50:07] Spectre > hey whats up... want to buy another ship?
[14:50:21] Figis > those are not navy issue
[14:50:27] Figis > u fucked me
[14:50:33] Spectre > what??!! seriously?
[14:50:43] Spectre > must have been a mistake by the guys in the warehouse
[14:50:47] Spectre > let me ask them and ill get right back to you
[14:51:02] Figis > i want my money back
[14:51:12] Spectre > i already spent it on a new house in the hamptons
[14:51:15] Spectre > sorry friend
[14:51:15] Figis > they are normal ships
[14:51:22] Spectre > yea if normal is AWESOME
[14:51:29] Spectre > theyre MEGATHRONS dude, that name is incredible
[14:51:33] Spectre > AWESOME MEGATHRONS
[14:51:46] Figis > i want my money back
[14:52:02] Spectre > better start mining i guess then
[14:53:01] Figis > so you wont trade back
[14:53:18] Spectre > no i will, im just talking to the guys in accounting to sort things out
[14:53:28] Spectre > we should be able to send you a rebate check within 6-8 weeks of this transaction
[14:54:04] Spectre > you can contact our claims department at 1-800-UR-SCRWD

Option (B)

Tricking a newbie pilot into joining my fleet and meeting me at a safe spot to "help me with a mission". Forcing him to eject from the Raven and then bringing it to a station to sell it back to him for 100 million ISK. Destroying his ship he just bought back as it undocks and then podding him.

Option (C)

Making fun of Ken Plante's MySpace page which is publicly accessible and labeled with his in-game character name:

[ 03:11:12 ] Spectre3353 > http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=6098788
[ 03:11:14 ] Switch 4 > it at least gives me some entertainment
[ 03:11:33 ] Kobrakilla > .__. █.____░█.___██_█████____.██___██_.░░░░ █.___.░░░█_█___.░░ █__.░░░█__█____.██___...
[ 03:11:35 ] Kobrakilla > nuts
[ 03:11:45 ] Spectre3353 > you have a phd in experimental pathology? you must be smart
[ 03:12:02 ] Ken Plante > man u r fuckin obsesisve
[ 03:12:04 ] Ken Plante > lol
[ 03:12:09 ] Spectre3353 > yea its so hard to google "ken plante myspace"
[ 03:12:09 ] Ken Plante > u r a weird dude
[ 03:12:15 ] Spectre3353 > I OBSESSED UNTIL I FOUND IT
[ 03:12:18 ] Mashashige > agreed
[ 03:12:24 ] Ken Plante > i wouldnt bother to look at ur screen names myspace
[ 03:12:27 ] Ken Plante > because u dont matter
[ 03:13:21 ] Spectre3353 > people that matter are agnostics and are pisces?
[ 03:13:37 ] Lucifer747 > fuck, i dont matter
[ 03:14:12 ] Spectre3353 > yoo brother wats up...just began college ..the bitches r amazen lmao..keep in touch big bro..hope all it well.
[ 03:14:17 ] Kobrakilla > I for one, am awesome
[ 03:14:21 ] Spectre3353 > sounds like your buddy angelino is having a good week
[ 03:14:37 ] Switch 4 > RAGE IN AMAMAKE LOCAL!
[ 03:14:38 ] Ken Plante > kid i work with in innercity program
[ 03:14:47 ] Spectre3353 > with a phd? thats awesome man
[ 03:14:48 ] Ken Plante > lol spec u r a tard

Solution

The answer is not (A). Scamming is simply an incredibly dick move that individuals with no morals would pull. This is fine for a member of the CSM.

The answer is not (B). Manipulating and totally fucking over a missioning newbie is a perfectly valid form of play.

This leaves only one possible option left:

CCP Diagoras,

Thank you for the consideration and notification. Would you be able to specify what violations were associated with my account(s)? Thanks.

-Spectre

Hi,

The violation in question was sharing real life information of another player within the game. You received a harassment warning from GM Macayle for this at 04:38 on the 29^th September this year.

Kveðja / With regards
CCP Diagoras
CCP Research and Statistics

Correct answer is option (C)! Linking to someones MySpace page is a violation of the End User License Agreement and will render you invalid to run for the CSM if reported.

Linky Link

The Python Cartel Academy

The Python Cartel has organized and decided to open an academy. It is being run by Golden Helmet, Lars Lodar and Lachesis VII. If you are a pilot that is new to the game or just new to lowsec PvP/piracy and you are interested in learning a thing or two from some experienced pirates, take a look here at the recruitment thread.

CSM4 Interview With Hallan Turrek

Hallan was nice enough to interview me about my candidacy for the 4th CSM election. The interview can be read here. Today is the final day that CCP is accepting applications and I look forward to seeing the list of candidates hopefully soon.

Hulkageddon

Helicity Boson put in quite a bit of effort the past few weeks to arrange a multi-corporation operation he dubbed "Hulkageddon". The idea was to see how many Hulks and other mining ships we could suicide gank in a single weekend. Well this past weekend was it and the final count was 59 Hulks, 4 Mackinaws, 22 Retrievers, 1 Industrial and 27 Pods. Additional info about the fun that was had can be found on the blog created specifically for the event.

It's October

Wow. I have been pretty bad the past few weeks when it comes to posting. It's probably because I have always tried to keep myself from posting blog entries simply for the sake of posting blog entries. Nothing irritates me more than checking Google Reader and finding several posts from other bloggers that say things like:

"SORRY I HAVE NOT BLOGGED RECENTLY LOLZ WILL DO IT SOON LOLZ XD"

Why even bother posting that? I personally don't even publish a completed post if I don't feel it is going to be interesting or that it is up to my high standards. I have dozens of unpublished or half-finished posts sitting in this very blog that will never see the light of day because they didn't feel or flow right. I wish I could say that my style is just different but I blog in this way simply because I am a higher caliber than the rest of the Eve-Online blogosphere. I am a gift to you all and I want you to know that you can always count on me to class things up. Always.

At Least Someone Does

Andrea Skye Is A Sexually Confused and Talentless Hack

I don't even know where to begin on this one. Let's just start here:


That is me, yet again, squashing Skye's hopes of being at the top. Every time he puts forth effort to try and close the gap, I pull away with ease by simply being what I am: THE BEST. I am the better pilot and this list of internet spaceship video game score points proves it beyond a doubt.

Additional factors working against Skye:

• He is a dude with a girls name.
• He plays World of Warcraft.
• He says "bu'uh" instead of "butter".
• He flies Caldari (including the Rook/Falcon).
  
• He is a dude with a girls name.

Seriously. What a turd.

Andrea Skye Every Saturday Night

00sage00 Is A Cheater Who Also Cheats

I got into a discussion with fellow pirate blogger 00sage00 in an in-game chat that we both tend to frequent. It stemmed from me linking my trimarked Rifter fit and him telling me that I should be flying a Punisher if I want a T1 frig with trimarks and a plate buffer. I told him he was wrong and I would kick his ass if he brought a Punisher down to fight me. What I wasn't expecting was that he would actually show up and I would have to back up my claim. Don't you hate it when people want you to stand behind what you say via actions and/or logic?

So Sage arrived in a Punisher equipped with autocannons, nos, a tracking disruptor, a plate, a small armor repairer and trimarks. I countered by dropping the web on my normal Rifter fit and putting on my own tracking disruptor to even things out. As the duel began and I sat at about 7 km peppering with Barrage, we realized that I could not do enough DPS to break the Punishers tank and Sage could not reach me to hit or do damage at all.

[ 23:29:21 ] Spectre3353 > youre not running out of cap, are you?
[ 23:29:31 ] 00sage00 > nope 
[ 23:29:32 ] 00sage00 > cap stable
[ 23:29:33 ] Spectre3353 > hmmmm

This was a lame way to fight anyhow. Stalemates are stupid. We should be fighting like men!

[ 23:30:13 ] Spectre3353 > take off the td and fit a web or an ab
[ 23:30:17 ] Spectre3353 > ill take off my td and fit a web
[ 23:30:20 ] Spectre3353 > and we can duel like men

So we did. As the second duel began, I went in to orbit at point blank and unleashed all my fury. There was no way Sage could stand up to my better skills, better modules and even better implants. I kept thinking this as my armor slowly dipped to half while Sage was easily repping me, even with my guns overheated. It was about this time I realized that I still had Barrage loaded instead of Republic Fleet EMP. I banged my head against the wall as my Rifter popped and I lost yet another frigate duel. It was just luck. Or cheating. Yea, that's it. He cheated.

[ 23:48:24 ] 00sage00 > moral of story: don't trimark a rifter :P 
[ 23:48:30 ] Spectre3353 > im still gonna do it
[ 23:48:32 ] Spectre3353 > YOU CANT STOP ME

Real Men Buffer Tank (Skye Probably Fits A Repper)

Spectre Is Still Running For CSM (As Long As CCP Says It's Ok)

Submissions for CSM have had the final date moved back to October 19th so we should hopefully hear soon that I have been officially accepted as a candidate for CSM. Once this has gone down, I will be posting a number of specific ideas on my blog about changes to the game, mostly geared towards lowsec, that I would like to see. I will probably run these posts up until at least when voting starts on November 12th. I encourage everyone to check out this thread and give it a nice bump by asking questions or showing your support. It would be very much appreciated and I look forward to an entertaining campaign and a chance to make Eve a better place than I already have. Thanks everyone!

P.S. I have gotten a couple requests for interviews on other blogs and/or podcasts. If any additional groups or individuals are interested in also obtaining an interview in relation to the CSM candidacy, please contact me in game via chat or an in-game mail and I would be happy to work something out.

Spectre Is Running For The Council of Stellar Management

Why Am I Running?

Over the past couple of years, many of CSM delegates have come and gone. Most have been representatives of large 0.0 corporations or highsec industrial groups. Very few have stood up for the improvement, refactoring or rethinking of the abandoned regions in between that we call lowsec. I am running for CSM in an effort to bring attention to low security space and mechanics related to it (which in many cases affects players of all play styles in all locations) so that all geographical regions and types of space can provide something unique, profitable and most importantly fun to the game.

What Improvements/Changes Am I Advocating?

• Mining - One of the most boring and poorly thought out mechanics in Eve. Who actually gets entertainment out of clicking their Strip Miner and then watching it cycle for 3 minutes? A play style and career that is the backbone to the economy and all of Eve deserves a more entertaining way of play that would actually be interesting and would be a blow to macro miners and bots at the same time. We need more mining vessels with more specific capabilities, a re-factored method of actual mining to be more than clicking a module, more varied ores in more systems as well as boosts to help mining ships survive in dangerous space outside of highsec where they are usually defenseless even when they have gangs "protecting" them. This is a game and it seems silly that one of the most important professions is so monotonous, simplistic and not fun.
  

• Improving Lowsec - More valuable and unique rewards for mission runners. More valuable and unique ores for miners. Unique benefits for those who are -5 or lower security status (perhaps systems with a reverse pirate CONCORD where high security status pilots cannot enter). Low security space needs some unique resources and it needs to be worth entering. Lowsec can be extremely risky to operate in and the rewards for doing so should represent this risk.

• GCC and Timers - If timers in low security space ever had a real use or made any real sense, it must have been long, long ago. Currently they serve only to create unnecessary pauses in the action and need to have their duration rethought or better yet need to have their function and overall reason for even existing reexamined.

• Sentry Guns - The idea of sentries is understandable but their implementation leaves much to be desired. In their current static form, they simply encourage players to fly bigger ships or in bigger blobs to negate their effects. Sentries should be more variable and scalable to have damage appropriate to the size and number of targets they are firing at. This will help to make it viable (but disadvantageous) for ships and gangs of any size to engage under the protection of a station/gate. Additionally, sentries of different strengths and damage types based upon where they are located and standings with factions would add some variety and tactics to an otherwise vanilla game mechanic.

• Discouraging Blobbing and Camping Tactics - A much more broad and difficult topic to dissect and solve easily. Ideas related to this include changes to sentries (see above), fixing prices/insurance on T2 ships so people aren't so afraid to lose them, revisiting the recent agility nerf and implementing stacking penalties on modules that are not currently affected by them. Additionally, continuing to improve the effectiveness of smaller frigate sized ships would be beneficial in giving pilots ship options that are viable in small gang and solo. The basic idea here is that the while the nano-nerf and the following agility nerf had some benefits, the ability for smaller agile ships or gangs to travel unmolested has been severely damaged and turned much of PvP into simply sitting on gates or blobbing targets. These sorts of changes need to be discussed very thoroughly and carefully but the idea is to prevent solo or small gang PvP from dying out as a result of Eve's ever increasing population and the seemingly endless nerfs to all ships agility and speed.

• User Interface - The Eve-Online UI is a mess in general. The overview and it's setup is overly complicated and difficult to upkeep. The corporation UI is extremely unintuitive and irritating to navigate. The drone window, the overheating buttons on modules, the inability to easily steer your ship in space, the asteroids with hitboxes twice as large as their models, etc. I could go on for hours on this topic and so could almost anyone who is familiar with the game. The user interface needs many improvements to become more intuitive, easier to use and not something that encumbers pilots.

• More... - The above topics are simply my ideas and priorities of the moment. As a representative of everyone, I am and always will be open to the opinions and ideas of the community and will work to see their wants and needs fulfilled.
  

Why Am I Qualified?

I have been gaming for nearly as long as I can remember and have been playing online and MMO games since the days of BBS's. Tradewars 2002, Subspace, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft and many others but none captured my imagination and interest the way that Eve-Online has. I have been playing Eve consistently since March 2008 with a focus towards low security space PvP and "piracy". I have some basic experience with PvP in 0.0, mission running and even mining. In my time playing Eve-Online, I have helped grow and run a successful pirate corporation, generated dozens of blog posts about Eve, made many friends (and a few enemies), made lots of ISK and caused many things to blow up (including my own ships). I am very passionate about my gaming and especially Eve. I am opinionated and have the ability to voice my opinions in a clear and concise manner. Electing me will give the CSM a well spoken individual with good ideas and the drive to communicate and see them through to implementation. I am (and always have been) easily accessible to those around me and I feel that I would give excellent representation to the population of lowsec and all of New Eden.

Am I Dead Sexy?

Yes. Yes I am.

UPDATE:

- I have a thread in the C&P forums to help raise awareness that I am running. Please feel free to stop by and give it a bump.

- Tony got a pretty good discussion going when he responded in his own blog to this announcement post. Feel free to check it out and add your opinion to the mix.