CSM X

Voting for CSM is now open. PLEASE VOTE HERE.

If you aren't sure what CSM is, check out this post by CCP Leeloo - in short, it's an elected body of players who consult with the game's benevolent masters CCP. They are given direct access to developers and upcoming changes to the game are shown to them first, so they are the most important avenue of feedback and representation we players have available to us. Voting is by no means mandatory, but you can count on the big nullsec alliances to push their hundred thousand accounts to vote, so I want to make sure smaller voices, particularly "highsec carebear" types, get heard too.

I have just finished listening to all of the Cap Stable interviews and panels, w00t! They have put together some great resources which can be found here, if you are interested in doing some research of your own. There are only 5 days left at this point though, so if you don't feel like you have the time to do enough in-depth research, I'm presenting my ballot here for consideration.

The full roles of voting can be found here, and further information on single transferrable voting can be found on Wikipedia. In short (for those who don't use preferential voting... *coughAmericans*), you order your preference amongst the candidates (in the case of the CSM, the most you can vote for is 14). Anyone who exceeds the quota (a set number of votes, usually dependant on the total number cast) is elected outright. After that, the fun of distributing preferences takes place. After initial preferences (ie #1 votes) have been tallied, the candidate with the least votes will be eliminated, and their preferences distributed. If you have voted for only one candidate and they are knocked out at this stage, your vote will "exhaust" and not count; as such, I'm recommending a full ballot of 14, ranging from generally smaller candidates to generally bigger ones.

With that in mind, my recommended ticket:

- #1 Jayne Fillion

Jayne is responsible for adding great content to the game, which a number of SLYCE members take part in and enjoy. Since the game is all about "what can I do", any player that creates content for others to enjoy is a great candidate in my opinion. He represents the NPSI community (Not Purple, Shoot It) - groups who form up fleets and go shoot other players regardless of ordinary allegiances. It's the only way I've been able to enjoy PVP sofar. Campaign thread here.

- #2 Chance Ravinne

I loved Chance's energy and enthusiasm. He runs a great youtube channel, knows about marketing the game, and flies in bombers and wormholes, which are parts of my gameplay (that I haven't covered on this blog yet). Campaign thread. 

- #3 Erika Mizune / Yumene

EVE radio host and industrialist. Erika's ideas on reworking mining and industrial systems are very interesting to me, and represent the PVE content that I'm writing about on this blog. In particular, the idea that finished asteroids have a chance of spawning smaller chunks of bonus ore would make mining a little more fun. That being said, her interview on Cap Stable was pretty poor, with nervous answers and issues understanding the interviewer's accent. Campaign thread.

- #4 Aeon Boirelle

A high sec candidate representing for the carebears. While I don't like all their ideas, particularly on revisiting input duplication, they want to represent parts of highsec gameplay at the core for me, and anyone who wants to fuck CODE. over is OK by me. Campaign post.

- #5 Bam Stoker

AUTZ = BEST TZ. Bam organised the only EVE meet up that I've been to. He is a nullsec player, but standing to represent community interests, and lobbying to introduce better ways for communities to network through the game client itself. Campaign thread.

- #6 Lorelei Ierendi

Who is Lorelei? A high sec carebear. Tick. Some ideas of changes that might have unintended consequences on the economy, but in general, another representative of grinders, and one who is particularly reaching out to the solo players, which I was for a long time. Campaign thread.

- #7 Nervon
Another high-sec carebear candidate. They seem to be a bit more rainbow minded in terms of a mix of PVE play with a little PVP, much like myself, but they have done themselves no favours in terms of having little existence in the metagame. Campaign post.

- #8 June Ting

The recently announced rework of Sovereign Nullsec space means I want to put at least a couple of nullsec candidates on here, and of those, June is the one who appeals to me the most. Her ideas seem to match the thrust of the announced changes, so I trust her to get the details right. Campaign thread

- #9 Mike Azariah

The incumbent highsec resident and blogger who inspired me to start this blog. If you've ever experienced a watering mouth at the sight of the Bowhead like I have, thank Mike. Has done a fantastic job on CSM, and also on Operation Magic School Bus, helping to retain newbies after the success of the "This Is EVE" trailer. Campaign thread.

- #10 Xander Phoena

Incumbent. Although the crazy Scotsman has gotten some bad press in recent weeks, his blogs on CSM 9 have been highly informative. He makes it onto my ballot for his work on input duplication, if nothing else. Disclaimer: former Goon, now flies with Pandemic Legion. Campaign thread.

- #11 Sugar Kyle

The most respected incumbent candidate. Although she represents lowsec, where I barely dip my toes to nab a little ice or deal with market orders, she has also represented PVE content, and been one of the strongest workhorses of CSM 9. Campaign thread.

- #12 Corbexx

Incumbent wormhole candidate, which covers me during wartime and a fair whack of other time too. Has done good work in rebalancing the wormholes I spend time in (c1/c2) so that they are ISK fountains worth the inherent risks. Campaign thread.

- #13 Steve "FuzzySteve" Ronuken

Incumbent third party developer and industrialist. Highly specialised and involved with the CREST API, which has allowed for better market data on sites like Eve Central. Runs Fuzzworks, which has allowed me to optomise my PVE gaming to no end. Campaign thread.

- #14 Khador Vess

RVB fleet commander and all round good guy with some interesting ideas on how to make life in high sec more interesting. Loses out to Jayne, Bam and June for me, but I think he's worth having on the end in case all of the above get exhausted. Campaign thread.

First Ever

Liquid Billion Isk, AWW YISSS

Mining

Busting rocks in a Proc

The What

As the name would suggest, mining is the harvesting of mineral resources from celestial features - asteroid belts, ice belts, or gas clouds. It's one of the easiest ways to make ISK: unlike 'rats, rocks don't shoot back. However, it comes with its own risks, most notably bumping and ganking. Despite the risks, it's still one of the most boring forms of PVE; grinding, pure and simple.

The Where

There's something to mine everywhere in New Eden - usually multiple kinds of things, so it can often be hard to know what's the most lucrative choice. The rule here is the same as with all PVE: more risk, more reward. Asteroid belts in highest sec systems have the smallest rocks with generally the lowest worth, working their way up through to the lower sec systems, then with better rocks and the other better value options becoming available in the lawless areas of space - lowsec, nullsec and wormholes. Disclaimer: I'm only familiar with high sec and wormholes at this point in time.

Huffing gas in a C1 wormhole

The How

You warp in to the belt or site. You target the rock or gas. You switch on your lasers or harvesters. You collect ore. Mining is one of the simplest activities in EVE, which is probably why it is one of the career paths many players try early in their career. However, there is still quite a bit to think about in order to optimise mining, even for a brand new player or account:

• Rule of solo mining #101: don't sit on the warp in - move your ship to the other side of the belt. Don't be the low hanging fruit for gankers. 
• It's generally not a good idea to refine your minerals until you have all of your reprocessing skills to V and sufficient standings with the corporation whose station you are using to refine. Generally, taking the time to train an industrial like the Miasmos and haul all that ore to a market hub will be a better option initially. For more info on reprocessing, check out the Eve Uni Wiki.
• It's generally worth checking which are the most valuable rocks to mine, not just in your local area but in the market hubs through a site like Eve Central. If you're at the point where you are reprocessing minerals to sell, then it's worth going even more in depth on an ore calculator with a site like Fuzzworks or Grismar. At the end of the day rocks are rocks and spending more than a few minutes looking around for something better cuts down your overall ISK/hr efficiency, but it's worth knowing what to look for.
• If the drive for bigger and better rocks sends you into 0.5 or 0.6 security space, don't make the mistake of thinking your Retriever or Covetor will be safe. Predators are out there and they live for juicy killmails from expensive barges. A well tanked Procurer can survive the 30 seconds it usually takes Concord to respond to a ganking attempt. Stay tuned for some fits.
• That being said, Rettys and Covs have their place - generally in fleet mining. Even in a more basic ship, the yield and range boost from an Orca pilot can make mining considerably easier and improve your ISK/hr quite a bit. Flying a well organised fleet op with Covetors and an Orca/hauler combo can pull over 10m ISK/hr, even in highsec. 

Warning: not all mining ops include celebratory fireworks...

For a more in-depth guide to mining, check out the Eve Uni Wiki page.

The Why

As suggested in the How, mining is one of the easiest ways to start making decent ISK, and relatively simple to get into - the tutorial missions give you a Venture, which is a solid ship to start flying and my tool of choice for Wormhole gas, which can provide way better income than you ever get mining in highsec (helped along by the rise in demand due to the ongoing release of T3 destroyers). Even if you find it bores you to tears, it's a part of the gameplay that everyone will have a brush with at one point or another, simply because minerals are the base of the whole EVE economy.

Many players mine because they need the minerals for manufacturing, but (in EVE and IRL) I'm no industrialist. For a grinder like myself, always looking towards the possible income, solo highsec ore mining is one of the least effective ways I can spend my time. But it's relaxing, simple, and, assuming the above precautions have been taken, fairly safe. If there isn't a fleet on first thing in the morning and I'm in highsec, I'll usually undock and pick up a hold ore two in the Proc while I make breakfast, etc. And there's even AFK mining - which I'll cover in another post - that allows you to play EVE and make ISK while doing the groceries, laundry, etc.

The income from my minerals is only a small portion of the month's total, but it appeals to the proletarian in me to be toiling away at the lowest tier of industry.

The J Word

Timezone

It's currently 8:35 AM local time as I type, and I've been gaming for an hour and a half. I'm hauling ore for a mining fleet with a dozen people from Europe and the US. We are chatting on teamspeak; they are sorting out dinner as I brew my morning coffee.

As an Australian player, I've gotten to know some of the guys involved in Eve Down Under. As they say, AUTZ = best tz... but i'm rarely on in our primetime, local evenings, to take part in the shenanigans. I usually prefer to game in the morning or during the day. So that ends up leaving me online during late EU or US tz - right now. Our regular fleets start at 20:00 Eve time, which in daylight savings means 07:00 local.

This does make it difficult to game with the few other Aussies I've been in corp with, since I'm usually on while they are at work and vice versa - but it's a great opportunity to make friends from all over. Those of us with matching schedules get to know each other pretty well, and SLYCE has a pretty good casual culture - we run sites or missions while having a laugh on comms.

The Plex Economy

I've mentioned I play for PLEX - so I thought I should say for the newbies/non-EVE gamers, what exactly is PLEX?

PLEX stands for Player License EXtension - it's an in-game item which can be bought with real money from CCP, traded in game, then cashed in for 30 days game time, skill training for multiple characters, or attire and special items through the Aurum store. In short, it's a way of converting real money to in-game ISK - or converting ISK to game time.

The economy of EVE is one of the most unique parts of the game. The total sandbox theme extends to most economic activity in game. Almost all items are made, sold and used by players; in many ways it's a kind of anarcho-capitalist paradise. It's also so complicated that CCP hired an economist for several years to help them figure out how to make it function. That complexity is a key part of the game's fascination for me.

PLEX as often been used as an indicator of economic activity in EVE. It allows for a translation between ISK and real money - which is how last year's massive capital ship fight in nullsec was estimated to cost $330,000 USD.

Unfortunately, having a way to convert real money to ISK means people will seek to convert back the other way - this is called Real Money Trading (RMT), leads to distortion in the EVE market and gaming environment, and is policed by CCP. The more RMT is cracked down on, the better the market for PLEX gets.

The recent decision to ban ISboxer, a way users can pay an outside party for access to software which can automate commands so that one computer can run multiple accounts, might not strictly be an example of action against RMT. However, it has also lead to a lot of movement on prices of PLEX, as many who were formerly using the software to grind and buy PLEX have stopped doing so. The net result, in EVE's free market? Falling PLEX prices. Good times for me :)

Overview - what's coming

So, I mostly spend my time in high security space, mostly grinding, mostly aiming towards buying plex each month and not letting this game I love playing burn a hole in my pocket. I'm gonna make a short post about each of the main activities I do, as well as some of the fits I like to fly, talking about the ins and outs, and why I find it fun - or what I can do to make it fun.

So what do I do to make the space dolla bills without losing my brain from boredom? That's what I'm here to confess. First thing to say is, variety is the spice of Eve.

Level 4 mission running - when there's no war on, this is my bread and butter.

Mining - busting dem rocks every morning while I brew coffee, or fresh after DT when I should be going to bed.

Away From Keyboard (AFK) mining - somewhat different operation, might seem silly but it's surprisingly effective. In fact, it's happening right now...

Planetary Interaction (PI) - the background earner

Station trading - during a war I'll often do naught but this and PI. Split between traditional buy low, sell high in Dodixie and some slightly less effective but more convenient activity around my home in Verge Vendor.

Low sec hauling - a fairly new addition with my recent discovery of the MWD/cloaking trick. My first experience in using dscan :)

Wormhole - another fairly new addition. Others in my alliance spend most of their time in the hole, I've been raking in isk with PI in there but recently started some ratting & gas harvesting.

If anyone wants to hear from me on any of these topics, comment here - otherwise I'll run through them over the next few months as I get time :)

Introduction

Hi there. I'm Tricky, in game and out.

I've been online before as activist, writer, amateur photographer - now I'm making a space for me as a gamer, by starting this blog about Eve Online.

I love EVE online, have been playing for 6.5 years on and off. A good mate I used to live with got me into it, but now my addiction has outlived his own :)

Asides from loving the game itself, I also enjoy the meta game, people who blog and stream and youtube and podcast about it - and every once in a while, when they say be part of the meta game, I think "I could do that".

So I've decided to start a blog about the kind of gaming I do. Eve is a sandbox universe so there's many different styles of gaming, but most people who contribute to the meta game either play in nullsec alliances, talking about sovereignty and capital fleet fights, or in lowsec corps specialising in PVP fights.

Don't get me wrong, I still love listening/reading - my favourites include Crossing Zebras, Cap Stable, and High Drag.But that's not the kind of Eve gamer I am.

Six and a half years since account creation, I have a grand total of zero kills to my name (though a fair number of deaths, both PVP and PVE). I play almost totally in highsec, grinding in various ways to make isk with the goal of buying a Plex each month so this addiction won't burn a hole in my bank balance. And I have fun doing it. So I wanted to share that experience, with posts about the different kinds of things I do in game. Hopefully I can give people ideas for making ISK and show how things that often get derided as "carebear" activities for newbies or those in need of money can often be fun.

Big ups to Mike Azariah, a fellow high-sec care bear, for being an in game legend and someone whose narrative style of writing about Eve has given me some inspiration to try different things in game and, now, out. I'm also going to be posting some ideas for fanfic that I have on here too. As someone with a Bachelor in Creative Arts (Creative Writing) - CCP, if you need someone to write your next novel, I'm your guy.

It didn't take me long to figure out the social side of Eve is what keeps you coming back. Even playing my way, it's pretty boring as a solo game. From starting with a housemate playing the null game who helped me to make sense of the sandbox, to the various people I've met along the way, making friends in game is the best way to fly. As the video says - This Is Eve.

My current corp Newpod Industries is great for that experience, probably the best and most diverse gaming community I've been part of. I've learned a lot more about this game in the last 6 months than the previous 6 years.

I recent attended Eve Down Under 2014, where I discovered someone from my previous life as an activist is also an Eve addict who has flown in fleets I've heard and read about before. The meta game allows me to feel connected even beyond those immediate friends and corpies all the way out to the big headline-grabbing stories. So I'm giving back to it; hopefully you all enjoy!