Latest Events in Eve and Modern Warfare

Well I finally made the move to low-sec in Eve. Went on a roam and learned a bit about the rules of roaming and basic pvp combat. I almost got killed by some gate campers while screwing around by myself, then I got stuck in a warp bubble and actually got killed. At least it forced me to learn techniques for avoiding warp bubbles when in nul-sec. Next on the skill training list is gas mining 5 to rake in some dough from all the gas sites in our area.

Dominion is right around the corner and I haven't even played enough of MW2 and L4D2.

In MW2 I ran into my first cheater. This guy had a lvl 70 account and was continuously shooting everyone through walls. At least some hackers have the brains to try and appear that they aren't cheating, but this guy was being blatant about it. I'm going to add 'cheating' to the long list of why it's better to have dedicated servers, as any admin can just ban the hacker's ip from the server.

Oh well it's just one more reason to give Eve more game time.

The New Corp - Lethal Injection

Well I finally switched corps in Eve. A rl friend invited me to join Lethal Injection, which is the muscle corp for Es and Whizz. Get it, because Es and Whizz is a drug dealing corp and Lethal Injection is the combat corp. Becuase drugs are often injected only our injection is a lethal one... because we kill stuff.. in spaceships.

So I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty in the drug wars of Eve Online. I took my first trip out to low sec in over a year. I know I'm a stinking carebear, but that will change soon! I hope.

The gunnery skills are training up. The cloaks are equipped and the targets are being called. It's about time I changed my Eve life.

Further news: There will be a Modern Warfare 2 review soon. So far I like it, but thats not to say there aren't issues..

November - A Good Month for Gaming

There are so many quality games coming out this month; it's going to be hard deciding which ones I should play. Maybe if I list them out it will help me decide.

Dragon Age: Origins - Nov 3rd (very hard to pass up a Bioware title these days)

Shattered Horizons - Nov 4th (A sexy looking Zero-G space shooter. For $20 on steam I may have to give this one a try. The graphics look too pretty to pass up.)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Nov 10th (Pass up one of the biggest first person shooter launches ever? I think not.)

Left 4 Dead 2 - Nov 17th (Being a zombie fanatic this baby is already pre-ordered)

Side Note - The new Star Trek movie is coming out on the 17th as well. This day should be a good mixture of zombie guts and phaser blasts.

Assassin's Creed 2 - Nov 20th (Splinter Cell in the Renaissance era? Count me in)

And as if these titles aren't enough to overload any gamer during November, we have Eve Online: Dominion coming out on December 1st.

Did the list help? No, not really...

Happy Halloween - From Gruggy

Gruggy is trying on his new Halloween costume and giving Order quite the scare.

The Patch That Broke The Game

The latest Warhammer Online patch was released back on the 15th, and like everyone else who plays the game, I've been online as much as possible to take advantage of the changes.

The most impactful change that has occurred in 1.3.2 is the removal of forts. For those of you who are not familiar with the layout of Warhammer Online, most of the gameplay is based around realm vs realm combat. Players try to capture realms by taking keeps and battle objectives while assaulting and defending against other players.

In the end game, there are three different racial territories. Each territory is broken up into four zones. The objective is to completely lock two of the three territories to gain access to assault the opposing team's main city. This is done by capturing all the zones in at least two territory. This is a huge team effort and requires hundreds of people working together to capture all the territories in a zone.

Before the patch, players were required to assault a massive fort at the end of capturing four zones in order to lock the territory. The fort sieges were so difficult to win, that more often than not, players would not even attempt the final battle after capturing four zones and just move to a different area of the world to fight.

This gave the game the feeling that there was no real goal of all the fighting, and that it all really came down to meaningless skirmishes. However, now that forts have been removed, factions are now able to lock two territories to assault cities quite frequently. Sometimes twice in a day.

Having been to several city sieges in the past few days I find myself and many others very disappointed with end game battle. For starters, when a city siege is initiated all other PVP stops for two and a half entire hours forcing everyone who wants to PVP to enter the city siege. Yes this sounds like a great way to form huge battles, but what if you don't like huge battles. What if huge battles in these kind of MMOs ruins all strategy that was previously possible in smaller scale skirmishes?

Well that's exactly what happened. City sieges simply come down to, the more numerous force always wins. Instead of being able to take out important targets on your own, battle has now broken down into throwing yourself into the mass of enemy players and hoping that they all die before you. This can look kind of cool at first but it gets old real fast. Especially when you're on the losing team, where there is literally nothing you can do to change the outcome of battle.

Now image yourself stuck in a constantly losing battle where the enemy is farming you for experience and you have no other options of gameplay open to you for the next two and a half hours. What the heck were they thinking?! Honestly this seems like a design flaw that they should have caught on the drawing board.

On top of that there are tons of broken quests in the city. Did they even have QA look this over before shoving it out the doors? There is also supposed to be a second stage to the city siege that nobody has been able to reach yet. To get to the second stage requires that all of the city siege instances on a single server are to be continuously dominated by one faction.

Does anyone see a problem with this? Mythic is trying to reward players for making one side an unstoppable force that completely dominates the entire game for two and a half hours. Image how fun that's going to be for the opposing side. You can't go anywhere for two and a half hours where you are not going to be steamrolled by enemy forces.

Some idiot designer needs to get slapped. Every player vs player game has other areas to fight when you are losing the battle at hand. In first person shooters you have the option of switching servers, changing the map, or even trying to organize your team better to sway the battle.

Mythic has cornered their players into losing battles and then forces them to stick it out to the bitter end because there is nowhere else they can go. Way to go mythic, maybe you should send your lead designers to basic game design school. Your game is broken!

The Ultimate Eve Blogger's Hub

That's right - I'm talking about the one, the only, CrazyKinux (CK)! CK is widely regarded as the most influential Eve blogger and distributer of Eve related news and media. Not only does CK get all kinds of cool media directly from CCP for early distribution, but he has also taken it upon himself to create a top notch blogging pack. I am fortunate enough to have been admitted to this blogging pack.

When my first blog was only days old I wrote CK an email asking him for advice on how to get people to find, let alone read, my blog. This is what he said.

You've got a sweet looking blog, with a great subject matter that's sure to interest a lot of folks out there.

I'll be adding your blog to the EVE Blogroll shortly, but other things you can do to "market" your blog would be to read other high traffic blog and comment on a regular basis. You might want to create a Twitter account (doesn't have to be you in-game character; mine's not) and start to follow other EVE bloggers, and partake in the conversation. That should get your site exposed!

Good luck and keep it up!

David, aka CrazyKInux

I've taken CK's advice and now my barely two month old blog is getting read, has gotten me publish in EON magazine issue #17, and has provided me with an outlet for my gaming rants.

CK you have my thanks, appreciation, and my friendship.

- Rakanishu

Mama Bear

I purchased my first Orca today. Since she is now the mining fleet leader I thought the name "Mama Bear" was fitting. Dwarfing the exhumers she mines besides, her pack of drones slowly suck asteroid into her cargo hold, while her far reaching tractor beam scoops up there rest of the fleet's ore.

Never has a mining operation looked so.. cool.

Mining is a truly relaxing area of eve. The timing of mining lasers, and the quickly executed asteroid locks, keep the ore flowing and the wallet growing.

I've decided that my next endeavor will be putting my three character's drone skills to use in missions. I plan on training them all to fly Dominix with high sentry drone skills. My main character can already solo any level 4 mission yet it takes him quite a while. Perhaps three Dominix will speed up the process.

Beer - What Would Iceland Do Without It?

Probably stop making awesome games and music...

If you're an Eve fan then you are aware that the fanfest was going on over the weekend. Reading some of the blogs out there, it sounds like it was quite the event. You have to love CCP for doing ridiculous dev videos starring - the devs (obviously).

I recommend watching both of these vids (CCP rap - beer ship) for a laugh. Surprisingly good production quality.. I wonder how many ships they could have designed in the time it took to make these.. Bah I won't be negative. This is why I love CCP, they are ridiculous and they clearly know how to have fun which is probably why Eve is in it's current state of awesomeness.

Also in case you're interested in Dust 514 - who isn't - there are some nice new gameplay vids to watch. It looks a lot like Halo, except that you're not fighting pink monsters with the mentality of the three stooges. I may have to buy a console for this game. Maybe I can mine in Eve in between lives on Dust 514..

The Loner

The solo player who likes to play MMOs. Damion Schubert's "The Loner" presentation explains the situation in all of its intricacies. Players who, for one reason or another, end up playing solo in massively multiplayer games.

This brings me back to my issue with CCP introducing the new join corp button as their solution to getting new players hooked. According to Damion Schubert, that could be the wrong move to make for a good percentage of the loners out there. I know I have addressed the "how to get more people playing Eve" issue before but I thought that this would add a little bit more weight to the argument.

I listed out the ten loner types that Damion mentions in his presentation. I think I'm somewhere between "the introvert" and "Commitment Phobic". Which loner are you? If any...

Loner 1 - "The new kid in town"

The new player is a tabula rasa.
No connections, no friends, no clue.
Friends that do come may quit.

Loner 2 - "The Daria" (Like from the show Daria)

In general, other people are a tragedy - but they are occasionally entertaining.

Loner 3 - "The Sociopath"

Doesn't understand what is appropriate social conventions
The real problem is when they also don't care.

Loner 4 - "Mr. Lunch At His Desk"

Playing on a very strict timetable.
Playing at unusual hours.
Playing on a non-gamer box.
May not have Voice Chat available
May want to group, but social friction makes this untenable.

Loner 5 - "The Introvert"

Reaching mass markets does not mean we're now reaching mostly extroverts.
According to Myers-Briggs, 50% of the population are introverts.
And we will always skew towards introverts.

Loner 6 - "The Adrift"

Some people are alone unwillingly.
In this case, being solo is a broken state.

Loner 7 - "The Unworthy"

Want to be part of 'the club', but aren't sure they have the chops.
Sometimes they don't.

Loner 8 - "The Vacationer"

"I need some 'me' time."
This player wants to escape his in-game obligations.

Loner 9 - "The Commitment Phobic"

Leery of long-term time commitments or scheduled events
Possible real-life distractions
Concern about falling with a groups of incompetents or bad leadership
Deep dislike of drama
May have had a bad experience

Loner 10 - "The Garbo"

"I just want to be alone."
Some people just like the level (or whatever) game.

Alliance Tournament 7

Semi Final Match: Pandemic Legion vs. Manifest Destiny. Holy gawd.. Pandemic legion steam rolled through this match. Only four minutes until Pandemic Legion destroyed every single Manifest Destiny ship without losing a single ship of their own. This is truly unbelievable.

Using a team of all Minmatar ships, except for a single Gallenete interceptor, Pandemic legion unleashed a force that felt Minmatar through and through. Fast flying, point blank range, and heavy hitting is what their setup brought to the arena, and it cleaned up fast.

This makes me want to give up my drone whoring days and just go all out Minmatar. There is really something to be said for fitting an entire squad that can move faster than 3,000m a sec.

For those of you who do not play Eve I would still recommend watching the match. It's a good bit of spaceship combat and things explode.. A lot. Thanks to Morphisat, for tuning me into this match!

Getting Back in The Swing

Well I'm back from a two week vacation in California. I saw some beautiful sights, went camping, saw family and... it's nice to be back in front of the warm glow of my computer screen. I'm looking forward to my nightly Warhammer gaming session with the Orange County guys (and girl). Gruggy, my level 31 choppa has some catching up to do with the rest of them, but I don't anticipate that slowing things down too much.

I'm now strongly considering getting Batman Arkham Asylum as it's been getting phenomenal reviews. Fifty bucks is a lot for a linear single player game, but I like batman and it's hard to ignore the entire gaming communities reviews. Even Yahtzee liked it, so I guess I have to play it now.

I just dropped some cash on a nice Samsung virtual surround sound system for the TV and I must say it's making the nightly Battlestar Gallactica episode with the girlfriend far more immersive. Space should always have a subwoofer to compliment it.

I have a lot of catching up to do with the Eve Alliance Tournament but I hear that Pandemic Legion pulled off a nice victory, and managed to spice things up with their stealth bombers. I'm sure that's going to be a fun watch.

Also, my mouth is starting to water in anticipation for the new Navy Issue Battleships. In particular the Navy Dominix. I know it isn't the most exciting new Navy Issue ship, but I'm a drone boat kind of guy and a beefier drone boat is always welcome.

- Rakanishu out

Fun vs. Addictive

Games used to be about having fun. Now I fear that addictive design choices are preferable to fun design choices. The success of a game is no longer based on how much fun you have while playing it, but rather the amount of people who play the game. World of Warcraft has eleven million subscribers, but are they actually having fun?

Sadly, the success of a title often goes hand in hand with the addictiveness of the title. World of Warcraft is crafted around keeping people playing the game. Loot, skills, bosses, and achievements are all cheap tools for getting people to play more. I feel that developers have become too dependent on these tools and are forgetting to throw in challenge, innovation and immersion.

There was a time when games were developed by small groups of people. Sometimes even a single person who had an idea to make something fun - maybe even innovative, interesting, or challenging. I fear that today’s gaming industry has become more like the movie industry: large companies looking at the bottom line and pumping out titles that are guaranteed to make money. Successful formulas are used over and over again, until the consumers want something new. Then and only then do we see innovation.

It’s hard to remove things like loot from a game. I like finding loot and customizing my character. But it should not be the driving force when playing a game. Loot, leveling, and achievements should all be secondary to fun.

I dream of a day where I can play an MMO and never hear the term “grinding”. I dream of a day where I log on without thinking about how much more experience I need before the next level. When that day comes I believe the gaming industry will be a better place. However, changing our design principles to meet these dreams requires a moral decision. This decision may not be beneficial to industry profits, but it will be beneficial to the gaming community, by creating a higher quality gaming experience.

We can’t lose sight of what games are all about – FUN. Relying on immersive and challenging gameplay instead of materialistic tendencies is a great place to start.

- rant over

Does Eve’s Universal Camera Ruin Immersion?

I have been thinking about the impact of Eve’s free roaming camera setup and how it may affect game immersion. It’s kind of weird but, the more I think about the ability to freely move the camera about, the more I feel it takes away from the realism.

Now the reasoning that Eve uses to explain the ability to orbit a camera around your ship or any object within range of your ship, is that millions of micro-cameras have been deployed through space. Logistically this doesn’t make sense. To get millions of cameras hundreds of kilometers around your spaceship instantaneously within milliseconds of entering a system would require immense resources and frankly wouldn’t work within Eve’s physics.

Now I’m almost never ‘the guy’ who likes to argue that “unrealistic” is a reason to change the way a game is played. I think designers should use whatever means they have to make a game fun and playable.

That being said, I think eve could be a better experience if players were limited to orbiting their cameras in a close proximity their own ships and nothing more. The “look at feature” should be changed to a “focus on” feature. This would provide players with an extreme zoom image of whatever they want to view. This could be similar to Star Trek when they use the bridge screen to zoom in on enemy ships.

Here are the reasons why I think this would make Eve a better experience.

1 – It would allow players to hide behind asteroids. Why not make asteroids or space objects a part of Eve combat. Let pirates hide behind asteroids and then ambush unsuspecting miners at the last second. It would also make large objects valuable in massive fleet battles. Flying injured ships behind large objects for temporary cover from targeting could be an interesting tactic as well.

2 – It would make Eve appear bigger. When you can immediately zoom out 100km to dwarf a Titan it takes away from Eve’s massive and impressive scale. Orbiting a giant space station takes away from the awe and mystery. If you want to see the other side of a station, you would have to fly around it.

3 – It destroys the mystery of space. Why explore when you can move your universal camera to any location at any time. Upon entering a new deadspace zone, players can just zoom out to reveal everything in the zone that they need to worry about.

4 – In Eve you fly a single ship. When fighting the enemy, sometimes you’re not even away of shots impacting you because the universal camera is elsewhere. The only thing necessary to watch is the status bar of your ship’s health. I think you should feel bound to your ship, and always aware of the specific things that are occurring with it.

With the removal of the universal camera system, players would no longer be able to zoom 100km out using the actual camera. Players would still need some way to switch into a tactical overlay mode. To fix this, the camera could immediately switch into a digital projection mode, when zooming away from your ship. It would be sort of like a virtual overlay that works similarly to zooming the camera all the way out. This would allow players to have their tactical overlay but remind them that it’s just a digital projection of space, rather than a true image of the battlefield.

Other than tactical overlay I can’t think of too many things that would be lost by getting rid of the universal camera system. Sure people would complain about it at first, as it would feel somewhat restrictive when compared to the freedom they were used to having. However, I believe they would quickly come to appreciate the new sense of immersion that it would provide them with.

The Dominion Cometh

I just read the first dev blog that gives us some details on what to expect from the new Dominion expansion for Eve Online, and let me say it sounds quite exciting. I’m not going to reiterate everything the blog said but I will say that creating stargate upkeeps sounds like a phenomenally great idea.

It will keep large corps from expanding at unrealistic paces. If some massive corp grabs ten systems in one weekend they will have a substantial increase in their rent. Hopefully this will require large corps to abandon some of their unused territory upon initial release and open up some systems for smaller corps to setup base in null sec.

This should also make corps who are bent on galactic domination rethink their mission statements. Does it really make sense to control everything when you only have enough player to utilize ten percent of it? Perhaps Eve corps will actually start to behave like real corps. All attacks will have economic and political backing. No longer will it make sense to attack space that isn’t worth maintaining. You attack you enemies if they hold valuable systems or pose a direct threat to you. Not more bored weekend warriors taking over the galaxy just for the fun of it.

I don’t usually like to theorize what the details of an expansion might actually be, but when they mention that players will have new tools to defend their space, I can’t help but think that, perhaps, players will be able to hire Concord or NPC mercenaries to help out in battles. Just like the NPC ships that attack members in faction warfare, maybe systems will also be able to hire NPC mercenaries. This could be very useful for smaller industrial based corps who are looking for enough protection to fend off small raider gangs just looking to pop some Hulks.

Anyway I’m quite excited for the new expansion and I look forward to seeing how it will remap null sec.

Leveling - Can We Get Rid of It?

I just got through listening to the “Shut Up. We’re Talking” podcast, hosted by Darren from the Common Sense Gamer. In the latest show, the podcasters bring up some interesting concepts about flawed game mechanics in MMOs.

Their discussion delved into pre level cap gameplay and post level cap gameplay, and how games change drastically after achieving player caps. Some players seem to live for grinding, questing and progressing in levels while others only begin to have fun after hitting their maximum level.

The problem a lot of players face during pre level cap gaming is that it can be very difficult to find PUGs (pick up groups) to play with. A difference of ten levels often means the complete lack in usefulness of the lower level character. Thus, if you cannot find a group of equally leveled players you may be stuck soloing your quests. Even if you're really good at the game, your talent is often considered secondary to your character level.

To make matters worse, games are so easy these days any idiot can progress to the higher levels. This allows a level forty player to utterly destroy a level thirty player during combat even if the level thirty is more talented. Levels, currently, only resemble the amount of time one has been playing a game and do not in any way guarantee player skill.

The only solution to this problem, that I can see, is to drastically reduce the bonuses of leveling up. Eve Online has come fairly close to accomplishing this. Skills in Eve do help to improve combat effectiveness, but it doesn’t mean that someone with eighty million skill points will always win against someone with six million skill points. Talent and strategy are still the biggest determining factors in when it comes to winning battles.

I now find myself asking the question “is it possible to design a fantasy MMORPG where a level one warrior can defeat a level sixty warrior, and still be a successful title?” The traditional level up system has become so engrained in our idea of what makes an MMORPG that I fear we may not be able to brush it off so easily. It also provides a great medium for addictive gameplay which developers are not going to toss out unless they have something else to replace it.

I think one way of solving this is, letting players level up in a way that opens up more styles of gameplay rather than just making them flatout tougher. I find that this feature appears in games like Call of Duty 4 and Planetside. In my very first multiplayer match of Call of Duty 4, I was able to place first with a level one character because of my skill with first person shooters. This was extremely rewarding, however, when I faced off against more skilled opponents I quickly became aware that some of the perks I could achieve through the leveling system would introduce valuable methods for outsmarting my opponents.

I think, if developers were to enable a similar leveling system in MMORPGs, they could still retain the addictiveness of a leveling system and at the same time allow low level characters to play a valuable role in all situations.

Alliance Tournament 7 - Looks Good!

If you play Eve or have a friend who plays Eve there is a good chance that you have heard about Alliance Tournament 7. Over the weekend CCP had the first rounds of competition, and let me say that the production quality is top notch.

The announcers were all well chosen candidates. They keep the information coming and do a great job of explaining the nuances for someone who isn't as familiar with all of the PVP mechanics. Crovan from The Drone Bay, one of my favorite Eve podcasts, can be heard covering several of the matches.

There are a couple of new graphics added to the videos showing which teams are which at the start of the round. The new particle effects are great to see and they really bring a new level of flare to what otherwise might be some outdated explosions and firing effects.

Now that CCP has allowed remote repairing back into the matches, it has slowed things down a bit, but at least makes the combat more realistic. It's also neat to see some tech 3 ships duking it out in the heat of battle.

My only real complaint is that sometimes the visuals are hard to match up with what the announcers are talking about. Perhaps zooming the camera back a bit so that viewers can get a better idea of the distances would help. Also the addition of a system that would allow us to see the ships that the announcers are speaking about would be great. It's a little awkward when we don't get to see the kills because the camera is focused on some other element of the battle.

Otherwise they are great fun to watch and I recommend that everyone (even non Eve players) go check them out.

EVE Blog Banter #11 - I Can Haz Tech 3 Battleships?

Welcome to the eleventh installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by 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 here. Check out other EVE Blog Banterarticles at the bottom of this post!

This month's banter comes to us from Joe Brusati a long time reader of CrazyKinux's Musing, who asks the following: CCP states that T3 Strategic Cruisers are just the start for the T3 line-up. In future Eve expansions what would you like to see as the next T3 ship type. Please be specific on details about what role this ship would play, cost of manufacturing, and the different modules that would be available for it, and of course you must give your T3 ship a name!

I apologize for the Lolcats headline, I blame it on a complete lapse in creativity. In my defense I have been cooped up here in the airport with nothing better to do than entertain my girlfriend (mostly myself) with time wasting website a la Icanhascheeseburger.com.

But as the title suggests I think that Tech 3 battleships are the way to go for the next T3 advancement. Yes it’s the obvious choice, but I also believe it’s the best choice. This isn’t to say that I think that we shouldn’t explore things like tech 3 frigates, but I believe the next iteration of battleships would have a much more profound impact on Eve.

Battleships are the current staple of any large fleet engagement, and they are also the ship of choice for level 4 mission runners. By introducing the next level of battleships to the player base, I believe it could spice up the combat quite dramatically.

As far as tech 3 cruisers go, I think the design principles were on the right track. Obviously it’s still taking a while for prices to stabilize, but otherwise I think we can consider them a success. Once wormhole operations, such a Mynxee's wormhole base, become more prevalent throughout Eve the prices should come down considerably. I believe 200 million Isk was what CCP intended for the final prices.

A tech 3 battleship should have a price point right around a billion isk. The tricky part is trying to design tech 3 battleships that don’t replace Marauders. Sure Marauders are great for killing and salvaging, but if a Tech 3 ship can run mission faster I’m sure that players would quickly make the switch. Perhaps I am taking this consideration the wrong way.

Eve is not like other games, where each item and tool needs to serve a useful function. It’s more like the real world. If new technology emerges that makes old technology obsolete, then that’s that. Similarly in Eve, the emergence of Hulks made the Covetor obsolete.

Ok so what should Tech 3 Battleships do? Well, much like Tech 3 cruisers are more powerful and more customizable that regular cruisers, Tech 3 Battleships should serve the same function. However, I think that CCP played it too safe with strategic cruisers. All of the new abilities we’re pretty much what players were expecting. More powerful versions of what they already had. Excluding the addition of a module that negated the jamming effects of interdiction spheres, nothing new what added through these ships.

With Tech 3 battleships I want CCP to design modules that allow players to create ships that will be flown unlike any other ship. Here are a couple ideas for spicing up Tech 3 battleships.

Gallente – Some galllente modules would provide great increases to drone damage. If built correctly, players could out damage a Dominix in drone firepower. However, if built this way players would be severely limited with high slots. Maybe only one or two high slots with no turret or missile launchers, making it a true drone boat.

Minmatar – Players should be able to create a battleship with frightening speed. Not a tackler battleship, but something that could hit 4 km a sec, with decent agility. To get a ship this fast and agile would require a huge sacrifice in armor modules.

Caldari – Perhaps several modules that allow battleship pilots to fire cruiser sized missiles with massive damage bonuses to allow battleships to maintain their current damage output, but also engage smaller craft effectively.

These are just few ideas to get people thinking. I’m not particularly committed to any of these examples, but I am committed to the idea of creating ships that are unlike anything we have ever flown before. If CCP is going to take the time to create an entirely new line of ships then I think it would be well worth the effort to spice up our combat options as well.

Blog Pack Baby!

Crazy Kinux, perhaps one of the most well known Eve bloggers has accepted my application to join his blog pack. CK's blog pack is composed of forty very interesting and unique bloggers. Their subjects vary from strict industrialist blogs, to mercenary and pirate blogs.

So far my blog's Eve related posts have revolved around game design ideas. I think Eve is an amazing game with so much pontential to become even more than it is. I love the world that CCP has created, but it is far from perfect, and there will always be ways to improve it.

My short lived blog, eve talk, focused specifically on Eve subjects, but I decided to expand it to all games with Level Cap. There will be non-Eve related blogs in here so don't panic if you come across one. Eve will always be my main game, but I like to keep my gaming experiences fairly diverse so expect to hear about other games as well.

Congrats to all of the new blogpack members. I look forward to reading the new blogs and especially getting all the awesome traffic from CK's site. I guess this means I should probably spend a little bit more time checking my grammar :)

Stay tuned for the tech 3 Blog Banter!

Cataclysmic

BlizzCon 2009 has come and gone, and in its wake, left us with details on the next WOW expansion Cataclysm. Now I have to say, this expansion even perked my ears. I was completely ready to hear the usual level cap increase and new races. Which to be fair, Blizzard is including in this expansion. However, the whole theme behind Cataclysm is that some catastrophic event occurs that reshapes the world.

What this means is that the "old" world of Azeroth will essentially be no more. Instead of doing a sequel to World of Warcraft, Blizzard is just redesigning the world from the ground up. All new quests and a completely new world. This will also allow Blizzard to improve the details and graphics from the original game that was released back in 2004. The old quests and world are supposed to be accessible through the caverns of time, in case players are feeling nostalgic.

Even though I'm not much of a WOW fan I have to say that Blizzard has really come up with a great idea here. Games like EVE have been able to evolve because of the nature of the engine but games like Ever Quest and Lineage have done sequels. The problems with MMO sequels has been that fans of the original games don't want to give up their characters that they put some much time and effort into. Thus the sequels are literally competing against the original game for subscribers.

Blizzard's Cataclysm expansion is the first time an MMO developer, has literally reworked the entire canvass of a game with this type of world. It's dangerous, it's impressive, and I think it's going to revitalize WOW in a way that I didn't believe possible.

Orange County Choppas

Orange County is a Warhammer guild, that plays the Choppa class exclusively. I ran into these guys while playing some scenario games with Gruggy (my level 24 Choppa). Watching a group of 5 orange colored Choppas rip through the enemy ranks at lightning speed was truly awesome to watch. Sure they would die every now and then, but not before dealing out some serious damage.

I decided to run around the scenario match with them. As we chopped down entire parties of the enemy, it dawned on me that a group of pure melee DPS players could get along just fine without a healer. Sure healers are nice, but these guy were putting out so much area affect DPS that nothing lived long enough to dish out any serious retaliation.

After the match I messaged the guild leader to find out if they were interested in taking on another Choppa. I was then sent to go read the guild website to familiarize myself with the rules and requirements. It all looked pretty good to me so I told them I was interested and that I could abide by their rules. They signed me up real quick and in no time, I was hauling my orange orc off to battle.

The killing was good. We torn off into RvR combat with a thirst for blood and our thirsts were quenched. Our group of six Orange County Choppas, plus two from a friendly guild, went careening into enemy lines. Our enemies dropped like flies. Massive area affect abilities took down four, five, and even six targets at a time. There weren't any targets called or shouts for heals, just a simple "get those guys over there". And we got them.

I think this is what I have been looking for in Warhammer. A bunch of orcs who like to chop first and ask questions later. Stay tuned for more Choppa news.