Submissions are open for the EVE is Real contest. I must say this is a brilliant turnaround from the drama we’ve been having lately regarding NeX, the Incarna rollout and CCP’s poor communication skills. Time to focus on what makes us all play internet spaceships to begin with and all the things CCP in fact does right. Or I should say the EVE community, and CCP seems quite prepared with this initiative to celebrate its greatest marketing tool, namely us.

For my submission I’ve selected something that was not made by me, but rather something that really got my EVE carreer rolling. The Angel Cartel (Push Eject) by Kyoko Sakoda, aka that recruitment trailer everyone loves. And damn right that they do, it’s an excellent piece of work, even now. For those of you who’ve never seen it before, I’ve included it at the end of this post.

So why does this make EVE real for me? Well, this trailer reminds me of the time when my time in Apex Unlimited was coming to an end and I spent a good while on my own before finally taking the plunge. And from there on, for those who’ve been following Myrhial’s / my story since the beginning I slowly rolled into the position where I am now, CEO of Ghost Festival, Executor of Naraka. and the person who took us from Derelik to the Amarr FW area, over to Goinard, and now finally into Curse. My, it’s been one hell of a ride and we’re still going, with so much more to come.

And that’s what really makes EVE real for me, the fact that every day the work I put in matters to many people, and that they keep amazing me with their input, and that through all these years there’s been so much I’ve gotten out of the game that goes beyond the limits of what is virtual. Just look at my interview at Fanfest, or just Fanfest as a whole, my blog of course, the tweetfleet, and the RP community. And there is so much more I am sure I am missing out on.

The funny fact is that Monoclegate, for lack of a better word, really made me realize that if EVE were to die there would be so much I’d end up missing. So much that is being taken almost for granted, and so much things that haven’t been realized yet. I seriously hope that time won’t come soon, but it is also a good reminder that we should not be scared and live our lives here and now, both the real and the virtual ones. Cut the crap and focus on what really matters. And don’t wait until tomorrow with what you can already do today.

Day 6-7: Sunday and Monday: R&R and the journey home

Time for rest and recuperation to nourish our tired bodies and souls. So we headed to the “tower by the penis mall” (you know a country is small when you can give a cab driver directions like that and they take you to the right spot) for brunch. Felt like we were trolling the place, it was all fancy pants and we rolled in there with our newly mohawked people, gamer shirts and hungover looks. Food was amazing though and resulted in a second foodcoma that week.

We ran rather late however and I decided to skip out on spending just two hours at the Blue Lagoon in favor of getting some hours of sleep. Which turned out to be an excellent plan as in the evening when everyone returned the drinking and partying was picked up again. So instead of going to bed and not getting sleep anyway worrying that I might not wake up for the taxi that would arrive at 5 AM (I am an incredibly sound sleeper) I just stayed up and chatted with people for one last time. Which gave me a chance to meet old Apex Unlimited alliancemate Gorion Wassenar. And enjoyed Jank’s pancakes one last day (3 AM and semi-drunk really is the best time to make them). By the time the taxi arrived to take a group of us to the airport everyone finally went to bed.

The journey back home was smooth sailing all the way, real nice flying weather. Vince was not so lucky, his flight was cancelled resulting in a 10 hour wait. At least they got him a dayroom. Had my usual fight with security again, even though this time I had taken off my shoes they still gave my bag a full search. Not the coins this time, which I had already taken out, but I forgot to take out one adapter which was hard to find in a black bag. Chatted a little with Leon while waiting at my gate and ended up participating in an anonymous airport survey at Stockholm airport, and was totally knackered when I finally ended up in Schiphol again, despite getting some good sleep on both planes. Luckily my boyfriend was there to pick me up and drive me home after getting dinner at the Burger King. Nomnom junk food. I stayed up a little longer hugging my cat who was trying to fake not having missed me (he was cranky all week for me not being there, such a drama queen really) and chatting with the alliance. Couldn’t focus for shit though and called it an early night, only to wake up like over 12 hours later.

All in all I had a really wonderful time, I really miss the people, I so want to go to the next Fanfest again, and I want to give a big shoutout to all the people I met up with and really made this the best Fanfest till date. For those who did not go this year, seriously, go next year if you can make it. It is so much more than just some presentations.

Welcome to the eighteenth 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 tocrazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

On May 6th 2010, EVE Online celebrated its 7th Anniversary. Quite a milestone in MMO history, especially considering that it is one of the few virtual worlds out there to see its population continually grow year after year. For some of you who’ve been here since the very beginning, EVE has evolved quite a lot since its creation. With the expansion rolling out roughly twice a year, New Eden gets renewed and improved regularly. But, how about you the player? How has your gaming style evolved through the years or months since you’ve started playing? Have you always been a carebear, or roleplayer? Have you only focused on PvP or have you given other aspects of the game a chance – say manufacturing. Let’s hear your story!

Getting near to my third year in EVE — I started in August 2007 — and I still haven’t seen it all, though I’ve certainly been around. Being a carrier pilot is something that will get ticked off this year, after which I need a new list. And while I never say never, 0.0 sov and all it entails is something I hold no real interest in, which is the only area I’ve not really poked my nose into.

A short summary of my carreer could be described as carebear gone pirate but remaining true to that carebear side. And then there is the constant of roleplaying all through the years. The specifics? Well, keep reading.

Alts

• Same account: Valnurana, my trader, newbie hauler and alliance executor resides on the same account as Myrhial, as for a long time I was very stubborn about getting a second account and did not have the income to pay one with PLEX. She’s mostly retired now. Also have the placeholder CEO for Ghost Festival sitting in the third slot.
• Different account: Faber Demaunier is my miner and has taken over the role of hauler from Valnurana. She will eventually take over the role of trader too. Will probably go down the path of research and manufacturing in the future, or mission running, or even both.

Carebear

• Exploration: A constant throughout my career, with which I share a love / hate relationship. Have gotten a rare few good catches, an overall steady income when focusing on radar plexes, but also a great many sites that just were a waste of ammo. Primarily focussed on these in lowsec.
• Research: I have personally researched all blueprints in my possession and aided PRELI with researching blueprints which were payment for the POS tower they received in exchange.
• Manufacturing: Mainly making my own ammo when running missions, or produce rigs for my own use to save some ISK on fitting ships. A few months back I finished Production Efficiency V and started buying up cheap salvage to create rigs and sell them at profit. Not a bad income for the slight effort it takes.
• Mission runner: My earliest source of income. Have done both combat missions and couriers in highsec, lowsec and nulsec, and have worked for the Caldari, Amarr, Thukker and Angel Cartel.
• R&D: I’ve got five agents working for me and once every few months I blitz through highsec to collect my earnings. A nice wallet booster but not as good as it used to be back in the days.
• Mining: I once mined in a Procuror — lol terrible ship — in lowsec just for the sheer lulz. I still get poked fun at for that. When I was a wee lil’ pirate I mined a few lowsec gneiss plexes in an Osprey, but other than that I leave this to Faber.
• Wormholes: Potato RR fleets make quick work of Sleepers, and getting near 100 mil a person for a few hours work is great. While quite dull in itself — point drones at broadcasted target and sit back — the vent chatter does get me through it.
• Trade: Mostly marging trading and probably where I’ve gotten most of my ISK. I’ve also invested in shares and IPO’s, all but one payed off, the one that didn’t was due to the player vanishing into thin air. Not sure if that was an intended scam or not. Have also done some resale for people, and selling goods on their behalf with getting a cut of the profits.
• Planetary interaction: Running a nanite repair paste chain spread over two accounts, with Myrhial working on five planets and Faber taking care of the sixth.

Pirate

• Ships of all sizes: I have flown T1 / T2 frigates (with the exception of ewar frigates), destroyers, T1 / T2 cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships into pvp combat, mostly fit for pvp but the few occasional encounters in pve setups have been there as well. I fly mostly in fleets but have also tried my hand at solo combat.
• Faction war: Busting plexes or simply clashing with a militia group, picking off stragglers from large fleets and even opening plexes to bait targets inside, faction war offers a variety of strategies and was where I really learned to pvp. Operation Bold Harvest will always hold a dear spot in my heart.
• Mission busting: This has got to be the most profitable kill till date. Delicious faction loot. Not all are like that though, and it is usually newer players you catch because they aren’t watching the scanner or even unaware of probes. The bulk of targets in Operation Longshot were of that kind.
• Ransoms: A rare occurrence, not because of a lack of trying but because a situation has to lend itself to it and then there is still the willingness of the target to pay up.

Roleplay

• RP corp / alliance: All corporations / alliances I have been part of have had roleplay as part of their activities. My character has undergone quite the transformation, from State loyalist to Cartel loyalist. While this has had a certain impact on her personality as well as her cultural thinking she’s still very Caldari in her ways.
• Channel RP: From bars to political discussions, I’ve been in a fair number of channels. Favorite hangouts are The Skyhook and The Last Gate. I’m one of those eternal lurkers in The Summit as well.
• In character blogging: Been slacking on this a little — and blogging as a whole — since I’ve stepped down as CEO, but for the two years I’ve been blogging I’m at around at least two posts a month.

Leadership

• Corporate: Have been a director and later on a CEO, now serving as shadow CEO while I take out some more time for myself. Don’t worry though, Naraka will be back, no matter what people are saying or assuming. I’ve already got so much ideas on where I want to take the corporation and being in Veto has been a very enlightening experience so far. Someday I hope to chronicle my experiences in a guide for beginning CEO’s and directors.
• Fleets: PVE and PVP, I’ve been FC, backup FC, backup backup FC and logistics coordinator. Having invested in learning leadership skills I’m also serving as fleet booster when needed.

Participants:

1. CrazyKinux’s Musing: The Heroes with a Thousand Faces
2. StarFleet Comms: Life. Evolved.
3. A Carebear’s Journeu: This Carebear Thinks He Is Developing Teeth
4. The Elitist: Our ventures in EVE
5. A Mule in EVE: From a guppy predator
6. Travels of the Ronin: Evolution and Adaptation
7. The Ralpha Dogs: The Past Through Tomorrow
8. Where the frack is my ship: A journey, not a destination
9. I am Keith Neilson: 7 Year Itch?
10. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: Evolution Me
11. EVE Opportunist: A long history of a short time
12. Roc’s Ramblings: Things Change
13. Guns Ablaze: Onwards and Upwards
14. EVE On Real Life: Haven’t you grown up yet?
15. The Fang: The path of the ninja
16. EVEOGANDA: Whoops Apocalypse!
17. EVE SOB: Learning to swim
18. The Life of a Dead Jester: My Time with EVE
19. Personal Files, Ciarente Roth: Personal Diary 18.6.112
20. Learning to Fly: Change is Good
21. Depths Unknown: Falling With Style
22. Morphisat’s Blog: Jack of all trades
23. Sarnelbinora’s Blog: Thoughts of EVE
24. Confessions of a Closet Carebear: It’s the yellow box, stupid…
25. Adventures in Mission Running: My path amongst the stars
26. When 11 Ninjas isn’t enough: First days in the North (continued)
27. Lost in New Eden: My EVE Life So Far
28. Life in my Hole: How My EVE Experience Has Evolved
29. The Lathspell of Mithrandir: EVE-olution
30. Chocolate Heaven: Recurring Themes
31. More as they get published…

[Delicious Tag: eveblogbanter18]

Jumping on the meme train which seems to have its origin at Keith Neilson’s blog I too have taken a screenshot of the map highlighting which systems I have been to and how often (click for larger version!).

My traveled systems

As you can see I’ve been around most of Empire space, although other than my time in Apex and the occasional blitzing hisec to cash in on datacores I’ve been confined to the lowsec part of it. There’s lots of presence in Derelik, which was PRETA’s initial home region, after which we moved on to The Bleak Lands and surrounding regions. Have also been poking around Minmatar space and then eventually we moved to Goinard which is Sinq Laison and surroundings, from which you can go almost every direction.

You can also see I’ve been down to Aridia, Kor-Azor and Khanid in the search of somewhere to move to next, but that wasn’t that much of a success. Being confined to a few cut-off lowsec regions felt like being in Derelik again. The observant reader might notice that this screenshot reveals that I am in fact not in Goinard any longer. More on that in upcoming blog posts.

As for nulsec I’ve been missioning in Curse, a region which you indeed don’t simply walk into, but take the back route through Great Wildlands. I’ve seen a bit of Cloud Ring, Pure Blind and Fade on the few nulsec roams we had over time, but other than that there are many regions left untraveled. But who knows that might come in time. I’m curious what my map will look like in a year from now.

We’re getting better and better at this. Saturday we took out four targets in just one and a half hour during a scheduled tech I frigate operation. All targets also lost their pod, due to refusal to pay ransom or failure to respond, resulting in our security status suddenly looking a lot more fierce. This being the most succesful planned operation until now, as well as the jovial banter over voice comms, resulted in the mood soaring high.

For celebrations we headed to the Skyhook. While we ended up toasting to business and success things nearly turned sour when Milo fainted suffering side effects from unplugging the illegal implants he had been using back in Asteri Rising. He was quickly released from sickbay however and Vincent adviced him to seek out help from Serpentis Inquest. Despite Milo’s suspicions of a suicide circuit being coded into the implants of those that were on his side of the internal conflict making me fear he may be a walking timebomb, I dismissed the issue for the evening. We lack the expertise to adress this properly inhouse and if his former associates really wanted him dead they wouldn’t have let him become one of our most efficient pilots. I will follow up on this though and provide him with the means he needs to overcome this situation.

Saturday pales by Sunday however. First of all, Jude Kopenhagen is now part of our roster. Yes, I can imagine a few jaws dropping here and there. I know mine did when he asked me about employement opportunities. More so because it had been quite the while since I had last seen him. To be specific, Duty. declaring war on Apex for defecting from the State and getting involved with criminal elements meant we no longer shared drinks at the same bar. A strange turn of events though, offering his services to us at the Last Gate, considering that he apperantly owes his life to none other than Ethan Verone who pulled him out of a broken down capsule. But well, I am not complaining I get to order around a pilot who I look up to (both literally and figuratively). I’m sure there are some female pilots out there pretty jealous of that. Besides, I have enough old friends on the competition’s side already.

Feeling particularely lucky that evening I decided to lead an interceptor fleet. Following the destruction of the ship and pod of a familiar pilot we spotted a target too good to be true: A PIE pilot defending an Amarrian complex in a Navy Slicer. Being just a little too eager I activated the acceleration gate before the rest of the interceptors had reached it and landed right on top of her ship. Attempting to retreat to a safe range her scrambler shut off my microwarp drive melting the Crow with little effort from the pulse lasers. Willing my pod to safety I inquired my wingmen about the situation and heard the cheers as they overwhelmed her. Even bigger was our joy when we noticed we had just inflicted 100m ISK worth of damage.

But there she was again, in a Coercer now. Briefing Yishal on what had just happened I returned to Tzvi to board my trusted Griffin and provide the edge needed to take on this bane of frigates. Playing chase for a while we outsmarted her and pinned her down mercilessly. Unlike standard PIE protocol she now spoke out to us over the local Neocom channel, a short mix of weak jabs and delusional religious nonsence. Returning to base now the fleet carried on without me, and to my pleasant surprise when I connected to our GalNet statistics this morning I found out that for the third time her God had not been on her side either.