Hanger Acid Trip

For some reason that's not worth spending the time on Team Fortress 2 and Eve Online sometimes don't like each other on this computer.

So occasionally I see something like this on the left, some sort of bad acid trip.

Typically a restart of Eve Online will fix the issue, much less often I have to restart the computer.

I had to laugh at the absurdity of it though. 

Changing Faces and Inferno Post Mortem

Over the time I've been playing Eve Online I have added various in game characters to my watch list for a variety of reasons.  This has now reached a few hundred in size but a little while ago I noticed that while my watch list was large the number of them that actually logged at any one time was less than a dozen.

Now this concerned me at the time but once you realise some of those would have been trials that didn't work out, temporary names for a number of uses etc, it still leaves quite a number who should be in the game but are not.

However this doesn't effect me directly as these people were at arms length and the vast majority wouldn't know me or that I'd watch listed them.

Over the past, lets say couple of months, a more disturbing trend has emerged closer to home.

Various members who have been in the corporation I am a part of are now leaving the game.  It seems at the moment that barely a day goes by that I don't see a message in corp mail that essentially says:

"It's not you it's me but with luck I'll be back in the future however I don't want to sit idle in the corp and screw up the figures."

All it needs a "Dear John" at the beginning to make it complete.

Do I think Eve Online is stagnant at the moment?

Yes I do, but Eve is a quite unique game and my experience is many people don't quit, they just take a break.

I'm probably atypical anyway as I'm fairly happy just to exist in the Eve Online universe doing the equivalent of the Lave to Diso run with a cargo hold full of Narcotics or shooting Thargoids.

The upcoming update on the 8th of August for Inferno 1.2 doesn't look like it will add much.

The visual changes to some ships will please some and annoy others so no real change there.

The added informative instructions will help almost nobody already in the game as that's a feature that helps the very new player just starting out.

Finally the mining changes may give some of the game back to those who enjoy mining but it could just as easily reinvigorate the "Goons" to attack miners in high security space as some sort of lesson.

Trying not to end this on a bad note I'll mention what has been done well in recent times.

The missile visual update is quite cool.  Somehow it's a graphics update which adds much to the game.

The cheap clothing is also a step in the right direction, although I've yet to spend any AURUM as without Walking In Stations what's the point?

Finally we have the new inventory.  Initially I was ... not a fan but with use, and some updates from CCP I've turned around somewhat.  It is still too slow, but much better than it was.

I find myself wondering about the next expansion, even though the current one hasn't rolled out completely yet.  It would have to add something new rather than changing an existing feature.

It could be a long six months.

Fragmented Conversations

I stumbled across part of a conversation while traversing the space lanes between...

Chertjaka

Crotaly

Chertjaka - That I do - is authorized rules of the game, re-read once again rules.

Crotaly - need to remind you that stealing is a very bad thing?

Chertjaka - also that further? and you will hang?

Chertjaka - You already calmed down?  The continue further the mission... I was tired to wait.

Chertjaka - Good luck! Though you also are brought badly up, but I wish it to you

All the conversation I saw, but all it needs is a "Someone set us up the bomb" and it would be complete.

Rule Number One

Every time I forget rule number one I'm reminded why I made that rule.

Rule Number One is never join a DBRB aka "Boat" fleet.

Why?

After joining the fleet, realising it's a "Boat" fleet, but then justifying the decision by the fact I've not been in any fleet for about a month I then join comms.

To be then assailed for the better part of an hour of "Boats" many phobia and -ism's while sustaining his ability to spew this verbal toxin while also not shutting up, or even taking a breath.

It is very similar to three hours of bad Adam Sandler humour at a machine gun rate.

Thinking the fleet was going to be a blue ball and considering bailing we finally jump via the Titan, do another jump after a Titan jumped to the wrong location, and, some normal gate jumping.

It was during this normal gate jumping my game didn't load a new system and I had to exit game, rejoin and try to catch up.

Upon login I find myself about 20kms away from a red stabber and something else similar, but they have better things to do.  Which is good as my Drake was feeling pretty alone at that stage.

Finally catch up with the fleet, we find the enemy fleet after some more waiting and go to work.

Pretty soon things start going wrong.  We are losing ships, we are mostly a battlecruiser fleet with logi, quite steadily.

Every time anybody is destroyed DBRB abuses them for being out of place or not calling for logi.

Our fleet is being chewed up.

My turn arrives to be targetted, I call for logi, which seems to do nothing, shield gone, armour gone, hull gone, I warp the pod away.

By this stage DBRB is no longer abusing those who die but the fleet is going very wrong, in fact we've lost but the FC doesn't realise it yet.

I start pod flying for home while listening to voice chat for a short time and also reading the fleet channel.

It is possible the game was de-synched and that is why we did so badly but more likely they had a better fleet with a better leader and they won the day.

This Drake I had owned for only a matter of hours.

I should have heeded the Rule, not even in desperation should you ever join a DBRB fleet.

It's not worth it.

Fever Posting

I must give thanks to one or more of my fellow travellers who passed on their flu to be loved and cared for by my internal organs.

Much love.

One of the weird things about Eve and logging in again after a couple of weeks was it tried to play the introduction video and also the pre-entered login information was gone.

Passive aggressive way to say I've been gone too long?

The in game music (Eve has sound?) has also been switched on, switched it off.

On the Linux box all of the above happened (well not the flu part) but the most surprising one was the Jukebox which in the past has crashed the game nine times out of ten.

It was also switched off again.

In the actual game not much has changed, it's only been two weeks after all, but it seems the Minmater ships have lost their rust.

They appear more golden now which I suppose fits their role as the slaves of the Amarr, but Minmater without the rust is like Mittens without the huge ego, thousands of retarded followers and a carefully built web of lies.

It just doesn't fit.

Lastly while cruising the CCP forums I came across this gem, while funny now it was probably full of drama at the time.

http://eve-history.net/wiki/index.php/The_Miner_II_Story

He Returns!

I'm back! Had a great time out the back of beyond where even basic internet is a rare rare thing.

Logged in to find the corp has moved to the next war zone, not terribly surprising considering the previous pace of deployment.

CCP have made some more changes to various aspects of the game which I'll explore over the next few days but the most obvious one is to the "new" inventory to make it faster, easier to use etc.

This of course is akin to polishing a turd but to be fair that "turd" is much shinier than it was at introduction.

Just a quick post for now as I catch up with the modern world, more later.