Status Report: Still Undecided, Still Procrastinating

Jump Changes, Again

A lot of people seem to like the changes with the exception of the jump range change. I'm not going to rattle off the details of that, if you don't know what it is read the devblog, refer to my last couple of posts and read this thread.

But I did post to the forums, twice, over the weekend.

I've said before that I'm not a fan of the EVE Online forums, its a hive of scum and villainy, to use an apt Star Wars quotation but there are occasionally good stuff to read and the recent Jump Drive changes certainly have stirred the population into commenting.

All I got in return for my posts were two likes and what appeared to be total ignorance of what I'd written At least I wasn't trolled I guess but I'm not sure my plea for review was seen by anyone in CCP. Apparently CCP Greyscale stopped reading the thread around the 200th page, I don't know if that's true but I hope not.

I've been watching my reading list quite closely, as I was away over the weekend, seeing what is being written is a good "finger in the air" indicator of how controversial something may or may not be. 

Jump Changes seem to be very controversial, certainly a lot written and I'd say most has been praising the changes and how they are good with a few bloggers also raising up issues regarding the range changes and how maybe that needs a review or delay.

I'm hoping we'll see an update from CCP Greyscale in the next week over the changes and whether he has been swayed by any of the arguments people have posted.

Undecided, Still

Perhaps in time I would be able to source what I need locally but that would take time and a lot of networking to achieve and with less than two months until Phoebe is deployed I do not see that as happening.

I still don't know what I'm going to do if the changes to the range do come in. I definitely will not be able to continue my null sec manufacturing or market seeding as I am now. So I'll need to work out what to do and where to do it.

Continuing Our Missions

I have decided, regardless as to whether I move out of my null home, that I will retain a couple of clones and ships in several systems so I can make use of the L4 missioning agents I have cultivated. Dumping these would be stupid and I can still farm the LP and then use other methods (such as Interceptors) to move any LP rewards I claim to high sec).

Moving To A New Home Base

I have identified a new home for myself in high sec where I'd be able to base myself and I spent a little time on the Monday public holiday moving ships and other assets there. Research and Invention will be moved here when the last of my blueprints have finished their current work (about two weeks from today)

Did we forgot anything?

It was not at all fun doing nearly two hundred jumps in a Freighter and Deep Space Transports but at least its done now and I finally see all my assets in one place.

Remembering Those That May Leave

Speaking to friends I've made in EVE Online most will remain in the game but a few, those in deep null sec or who run a large manufacturing operation, have indicated that the coming changes will be too much for them and they will be finally hanging up their capsule and leaving.

I can understand their position and most have already said they'll be moving to other games or will dedicate themselves to real life pursuits for the foreseeable future.

And yes, I've already asked if I can have their stuff. I can't repeat what they all told me :(

Conspiracy Theory: Cleaning House

Talking to a friend about how the new jump changes would affect them they mentioned that a corp mate of his had said that the whole purpose of the changes is a ploy by CCP.

CCP are "clean housing" and the changes are enough to affect a large slice of the EVE Online population. Characters, Corporations and Alliances who rely on capital ships more than others will have no choice but to adapt or, CCP are hoping, leave the game removing their influence.

So what would happen if this were true, we could see the fracturing or breakup of the larger alliances. This would allow smaller and more nimble or flexible groups to step up and take their place and instead of the large expanses of space controlled by a single entity, with hundreds in fleet on operations, we would see fiefdoms of two or three systems controlled by smaller groups.

I can't take credit for this but I did find it amusing and, if it was true, would certainly make every prior meta-gaming event in EVE Online pale in comparison. 

In all seriousness I can't see this being a "thing" that CCP would do. They've cancelled World of Darkness, DUST514 isn't doing very well and EVE Legion is not yet ready for release and all that is is DUST514 for the PC with some new bells and whistles and they risk their cash cow, the one product of theirs that actually is generating income?

I don't think they are that careless or misguided. Do you?

Jump Changes and Me

I've spent much of the past 24 hours reading posts about the changes to Jump Drives coming in Phoebe and investigating how they will effect my logistics network in order to move products and materials to and from high sec.

Let it be known I like the changes in terms of limiting Force Projection of Capital Ships but the changes in relation to Jump Freighters/Capital Industrial Ships I am not liking at all.

What I Do In NPC Null

Normalised to the minimum I have found that I do the following in NPC Null:

1. Manufacture in NPC Null of T1 modules using locally sourced and imported materials
2. Manufacture in NPC Null of T2 modules using some locally sourced but predominately imported materials 
3. Manufacture T1 and T2 rigs using locally sourced and imported salvage materials 
4. Ship out Reacted Materials for sale in order to fund Manufacturing and Research operations in NPC Null
5. Sell Manufactured T1/T2 modules/rigs on my local market

I also mission and rat in order to supplement my income in and around my market system (these aren't primary activities though and aren't listed above) nor is my my high sec trading/speculation listed as it is out of the scope of this discussion.

Exporting

I make metamaterials for sale to help fund my operations, it contributes to my income that I then use to purchase the minerals, T2 components and salvage needed to manufacture the range of T1/T2 modules and rigs I produce.

I never leave NPC Null with a partially filled Jump Freighter, it is always full whether that is with materials I need moved or courier contracts from corp/alliance that need to go to high sec.

My logistics network at the moment means I have to do two jumps to get to high sec, approximately 20 light years in total distance. I have two dedicated cyno characters in my primary jump systems but with clones in a secondary system should the primary be too dangerous to use.

Fuel wise it costs me less than 700 liquid ozone and 22,000 isotopes per trip to leave my NPC Null home. Once I reach my high sec entry system its a matter of dropping off any courier contracts or shipping materials to Jita for sale by my trading alt.

Importing

It is rare I make more than one jump a week but I do ad-hoc services, for a fee, should someone need it but I import raw materials for my metamaterial reactions as well as minerals, T2 components and salvage as needed to meet any shortfalls I have for production.

I try to plan at least 4 weeks ahead in what I need with at least 2 weeks reserve in case of unforeseen difficulties. As a result I typically make one run a week from Jita to NPC Null and if space is available carry courier contracts for corp/alliance in addition to what I need bought in.

I'd estimate at least 75%, probably closer to 90% if I'm honest, of what I need has to be imported from High Sec. 

Sourcing Locally

Local politics and supply issues mean that even if I tried I could not source all my requirements locally. 

I'm surrounded by entities that are hostile to me and my alliance, not to mention that roving gangs are regular visitors to Curse that make it extremely unwise to pilot anything larger than a hauler more than one or two jumps.

Those that I have spoken to aren't interested in selling me what they make at a reduced price, Jita price is the base but more often than not its Jita plus 10% or 20%, but they'd rather move it to Jita to sell than helping a "red" locally.

There are a lot of reactions happening in the Constellation I'm in, I've performed a full moon survey of the nearest 12 systems and have a good idea what is being made. However most of the high end moons are being extracted rather than reacted with other materials. It seems its easier to extract Hafnium or Mercury and move it for sale in Jita than it is to setup production POS'es and manage them.

PI materials are non-existent in the local market and everyone produces for themselves or, again, for export to Jita. Again I've spoken to some PI producers who aren't in my alliance and they aren't interested in making materials for sale to me both because I'm "red" but also because it will not be as profitable (so they have said).

Minerals I am able to get from reprocessing wrecks, although this no longer yields as much as it used to, as well as the odd hauler spawn but these do not provide all or even the quantities I need of minerals to produce items. I could mine, and I do sometimes, but I am missing out on Mexallon, Isogen and Morphite bearing asteroids so I continually need to import these minerals above all others. Tritanium I've got nearly a billion units of and most of the rest I have between several tens of million (pyerite) or thousands of units (nocxium/megacyte).

I salvage wrecks in belts or mission sites I've been given access to and over the course of 30 days this provides a lot of salvage materials but none is for sale, at least at reasonable prices, locally and anyone else who stockpiles is either doing so for shipping to Jita for resale or produce rigs themselves and do not want to supply a competitor.

Major Consideration - Jump Range Change

Changing the maximum jump distance to 5ly for all jump capable ships will very possibly kill my efforts and I'll leave NPC Null for something either significantly closer to high sec or I may just move onto something new. I just don't know,  I'm not feeling quite so fatalistic about this situation as Lorna is but I am facing a serious threat to my activities that I cannot see a reasonable or simple solution to.

As I said in my opening, my Export route is currently two jumps and requires two cyno characters and no more than 10 minutes of action at the keyboard to do. 

Using DOTLAN to simulate the 5ly limit for my JF pilots (JDC 0, JFC V and JF V) I find now that 2 jumps becomes 7 jumps with four of those jumps requiring stops in non-NPC Null systems held by entities that are hostile to me. I can't see any way of getting blue status with them nor can I really "ninja cyno" as a Jump Freighter cannot fit a cloaking device and thus would be easy pickings for any probe carrying combat ship.

Looking for alternative routes I can change two of the stops to other systems but again they are either held by the same hostile entities or another one entirely. Some choice I have there.

Minor Considerations

Then of course there will be the two other "minor" changes I'd need to keep abreast of:

• Additional jumps means additional cyno characters, ships, modules and fuel needed

7 jumps means I'd need new cyno characters in new systems, that I don't have station access in order to jump. Wait I don't have station access so I'd need another character in a cloaked ship holding spare modules, cyno ships and fuel.

• Using jump clones for cyno characters could increase the jump time from minutes to at least a day or two depending on setup

Instead of adding new characters maybe I can use jump clones instead...  And if I did use Jump Clones I'd have to train them up to be able to have multiple clones (at least 5) and be maximum skilled in Cynosural Theory so as to not require cargo modules and use the minimum amount of fuel per lighting.

And then of course you've got to take into account the jump clone timers, what takes 10 minutes now and I don't need to do any jump cloning may take one or two days to complete the full journey due to the cool down period between jumps. I could add more cyno characters but I'd need to start another new account dedicated to cyno characters and I have more than enough accounts at the moment.

Of course jump cloning would only work if I had access to friendly stations on the route that I can install a clone and store ships, modules and fuel in. Ah, wait I don't.

• Use the gate network to move cyno characters ahead of the jump freighter and light as needed

I'd could use my cyno characters to travel through gates each time I needed a cyno but this would opening up the opportunity that I could die on the way (very likely) or be followed and have someone spring a trap and catch my jump freighter (very possibly).

What About Wormholes

I did have someone say that wormholes may be the saviour for people like myself. Find a nice Null->Low Sec (which I could jump out of) or Null->High Sec connector and I'd be all good. In theory it could work but in practice it wouldn't (I don't think).

I've seen four WH's in my home system in the past 2 weeks. 3 were to WH space and one was a null->null connector that was even deeper located than I was. I really don't see WH's being able to help.

Conclusion

The jump range change will more than half my JF range (11.25ly to 5ly) and limit the systems I can use whilst increasing the stops I must make on the way in hostile systems.

As a result my conclusion is simple, based on what has been announced, I will no longer be able to, as of Phoebe, be able to run a logistics network from my NPC Null home to high sec. 

We still have almost 2 months until Phoebe is released. Things can change, although as this post says:

Since this is a dev blog, this means it that CCP is a lot more solid on its decisions here than it would be in a trial balloon dev post on the forums

meaning that these changes are probably decided and unlikely to significantly, if at all, change between now and release.

Bugger.

We'll have to wait to see what happens and whether the feedback CCP are getting is going to see changes or not.

EVE Do Dates Wrong, Unpossible!

A short and funny post:

I was just linked a character and when I was checking their Character Sheet I had to laugh when I saw how long they have been in their Corporation for. I had to laugh when I read it and realised it wasn't quite right...

Urm... really.

Having worked as a Software Tester for over 10 years this type of thing is something I've seen a lot but seeing it in EVE Online makes me chuckle.

EVE Dev's are human after all :)

Beyond the Rim

Lighting the Blue Touchpaper

Are you the type of EVE Online Player who:

• only logs in to update skills 
• spin your ships in station
• complains that [change] is terrible and should be stopped
• you believe CCP Fozzie/Greyscale/"Insert Name" is ruining your game and should be fired
• Posts nothing but thinly veiled attacks at anyone who attempts constructive posts on the Official Forums
• cannot say anything about EVE Online in a positive way

If so, please it is time to pass Beyond the Rim. Consign your character to Doomheim and fuck off to World of Tanks or whatever game you're playing instead of EVE. If playing EVE makes you so negative and angry then please, door is to your left please allow it to hit you on the arse as you leave.

Don't come back either.

Perhaps it is time for all the original and older players who aren't adapting or are resistant to change to move on and to leave the younger characters to fill the void by learning and advancing to replace those that do leave. Without these bitter vets consistently beating them down either in-game or via the Official Forums, I think the game could be considerably better off.

There are certainly a number of these types of player that I think are detrimental to the game and I wouldn't be sad to see them leave. I'd even go so far to say CCP wouldn't miss them either, any players over a couple of years old can easily make enough income a month in-game to PLEX their accounts and not use real money.

Even Endie of Pirate Zombie Ninja Monkey agrees that New Players are needed but replace the old with the new will be better than just adding new players who will last only weeks. We need to weed out the bad players, the ones who contribute nothing but negativity to the game WE love.

The Threadnaught Is Off!

This thread on the EVE Online Forums continues, its over 154 pages of comment so far on the devblog about the jump changes in Phase One. 

Some constructive, some asking for clarification but more than anything else there are threats to quit EVE, people happy that the changes will bring back the "EVE of Old" and quite a bit of sniping between people who obviously have no respect for each other and just want to see a people get angry over pixels.

I'd wager a dollar that the Jump Timers aren't so much an issue as the slashing of the Jump Range, especially for Jump Freighters/Capital Industrial Ships. 

But the posts are pretty much what I expected and I even made a post about my own investigations into the changes and how they would effect me. 

Even I'm not sure, right now, whether I could remain where I am in NPC Null if I had to change my logistics to match the basic investigation I've done. I'd probably need four accounts just for cyno characters to do in 11 jumps what I can do in 2 now. 

But that's for another post...

Stop, Revive and Survive

The post title comes from a Road Safety campaign from one of the Australian states and seems rather apt (to me) with the announced changes from CCP with regard to Jump Drives and Capital Ships.

Long Term Plan

Announced overnight by CCP Greyscale in a devblog are details of the three phases of changes that are coming to null sec over a-yet-to-be-given time scale:

• Phase 1 - Long-Distance Travel
• Phase 2 - Medium-Term Changes
• Phase 3 - Dynamic Warfare and Granular Territory Control

Very little information is given for Phases 2 and 3 but we have a lot of detail for Phase 1 as this is being planned for the next Expansion, called Phoebe, in November 2014.

Changes, Soon

It is made clear form the devblog that the changes are not "a silver bullet" that will fix all issues in null sec in one go but instead will form part of a greater number of changes, over time, that will represent a significant improvement to "specific areas of concern" within EVE Online.

The major change coming will be changes to how capital ships can move:

• they will now be able to use gates in null and low sec
• their jump distance changed to a maximum of 5ly per jump

but by far the biggest change are the new timers:

• Jump Activation - counter that shows how long you have to wait until you can jump again
• Jump Fatigue - counter of accumulated jump fatigue that is used to calculate the Jump Activation timer when you do jump

New Timers for Jump activation and Jump fatigue

An example is given in the devblog of how this will work in practice but basically the further you jump the longer it will take you because the length of wait between jumps will increase due to Jump Fatigue. 

Read the devblog, it clearly lays out the functionality and how it will work much better than if I reproduced it here.

Jump Freighters/Capital Industrial Ships

The Jump changes potentially could have a massive impact on goods movement within null sec and CCP appear to have foreseen this and have given Jump Freighters and Capital Industrial Ships (i.e. Rorqual) a role bonus that will reduce these timers by 90%.

From my perspective this is great, it means that when I have my "logi day" I won't have to worry too much about jump timers slowing my jumps down. I did have to check the jump range of JF's but they already are at 5ly so there won't be much change for me.

Fuel costs already went up, now I may have a couple of minutes between jumps when I use midpoints but aside from that these changes won't impact me very much I believe. 

How Will This Change Things

This certainly will have an impact on force projection but it will not change the ability of the current Null Sec power blocs to retain their power. They will need to adapt and change but the ability for them to deploy will not be greatly diminished and we will certainly see capital armadas moving via gates, with sub-capital support, to continue to strike fear into any smaller groups looking to get a foothold anywhere in Null.

We could see the end of large empires spanning entire quarters of null sec but entire regions would still be defensible and with the changes to jump mechanics it will make more sense for power blocs to maximise the use of the systems they have and relinquish control over areas they cannot actively defend or would be more trouble than they are actually worth.

Null Sec Power Blocs

These changes could stimulate Null Sec industry, forcing characters to use the space they have rather than claiming it and not making use of it. New null sec trading hubs could be created and catered to by local industry rather than importing everything from High Sec. 

A lot of space is currently unused because it is not very resource rich or profitable, Phases 2 and 3 should address this and perhaps we'll see rebalancing of system sec and upgrades that mean space is finally worth owning.

My own hope is that there will be smaller entities, be they Corporations or Alliances, that can will finally be able to gain themselves a small foothold in one or two systems in areas that the current Power Blocs cannot easily assault or want to retain because they cannot profit from them.

Actually I love that this brings risk back into null sec, no longer can wrecking ball fleets or massed capitals move around with impunity and at high speed.

More To Come

I see there is some "hurt feelings" in some quarters, so much so that they has been a leak of a post/message that CSM Member/Providence Head FC corebloodbrothers on internal forums.

People certainly get passionate about changes, especially if they feel it will have a negative impact and after having lived in Providence myself I can recall the insular and "me" behaviour a lot of people had. 

Changes can only be good, in the long term. Short term it means everyone will need to look at what they're doing and finding new ways of existing or adapting to the changes.

Reaction

"I was astonished by CCP’s latest DEV blog"
                                                                - EVE Hermit
"Dis gon b gud"
                     - Neville Smit

"I actually rather like this"
                                   - Stabs

Three quotes from three people who don't jump to conclusions or mince their words. These quotes come from their respective blogs based on their feelings on the devblog.

Wilhelm Arcturus also has an excellent write up, he even tries to explain to his non-EVE readers what this change could be compared to in other games. The other three seems positive about the changes but Wilhelm is, from my reading, on the fence about the changes possibly even thinking that they don't go far enough.

I believe they are a good start, I still feel that a mass restriction on cynosural fields is another way of limiting force projection, but what we're seeing (subject to feedback and change) is an excellent start and certainly seems to open the way for splintering of null sec space away from the current Power Blocs.

I'm sure over the next couple of days we'll see more comment come out, there will be the nay-sayers and the EVE Online Forums will be full of people saying the changes are too much and they will be quitting because of them. 

These changes are the start of something good and perhaps its time for a culling of the old guard to allow new players a chance to get into the game without the bitter vets of old.

Lost In Space

Wormholes are dangerous places, think 19th Century Wild West and you'll be in the ballpark for what it can be like. There are some things you do in wormholes and lots that you don't.

Up there in the top 5 rules of things you do would be:

Fit a probe launcher and carry combat AND core probes

A friend learned the hard way about this a week ago but he also found out that not every wormhole dweller is a merciless killer.

Setting the Scene

Our story starts in null sec where a new appearance in local piqued the interest of those in system. A lone Armageddon was spotted on d-scan but he had not come though either of the gates in the system. He disappeared and reappeared a couple more times before two more joined him in a Slasher and Phoenix respectively.

Caldari "Brick", the Phoenox Dreadnought

It was obvious that they were visiting via the wormhole that had appeared in system so a small welcoming committee was assembled and warped to the wormhole. 

Holding his cloak he sees the Phoenix jump through and align to a celestial when the Slasher uncloaks and webs the Phoenix to speed up its entry to warp speed. The Phoenix warps off and this is where Kiatae makes a critical mistake, as he admits.

Instead of moving to a point around 50km off of the wormhole in alignment with the celestial he remains on the wormhole whilst a friend, in another interdictor, warps at 50km to the same celestial as the Phoenix. The celestial turns out to be a POCO in the null sec system and on landing the Pheonix is 50km off him so he burns at him but isn't able to get in bubble range before the Pheonix warps back to the wormhole.

He warped to the wormhole and beat the Phoenix to it but launching a bubble with the dreadnought in warp would not do anything so he jumps through into wormhole space.

The Land of Bob

After the transition he saw the pheonix jump into the wormhole with the slasher and then he heard one of the most troublesome noises in EVE (wait, EVE has sound!). He heard the noise of the wormhole collapsing and it disappeared from the grid.

Like the EVE Online Forums, can contain Scum and Villainy

Kiatae was now stuck with hostile forces nearby.

For the next hour he warped around the system avoiding the pursing fleet comprised of cruisers, battlecruisers and assigned fighters. He managed to kill a Slasher and a Crow with a Stilleto taken to 3% structure before he had to bug out when the pursing gang landed 20km from him.

Options

Eventually the pursuit stopped and he was able to safe up. it was then he took stock of his situation and realised he had no way to get out of this system. He had only two options available to him:

1. Self-destruct his ship and pod
2. Ask for help in Local/EVE Online Forums

Option 1 was not an option, he didn't mind losing the ship but his implants were not something he wanted to lose. Option 2 was trickier, with hostiles in the same system he didn't trust them to help him.

So he posted to the EVE Online forums where he got more people chuckling and pointing out his mistakes than any real help.

Salvation

It must have been the two kills that meant that Bob looked upon Kiatae's predicament and decided that he would let salvation come, not in the form of death, but in the form of a roaming gang of YARRR and CO. 

Kiatae asked in local for assistance and YARRR and CO obliged by giving him a wormhole exit to low sec that he used. Kiatae, grateful after being stuck in the wormhole for 3 days, offered up 200m ISK as a thank you.

He then made it out to low sec and, slowly, made his way home after his adventure in wormhole space.

Karma

It appears that Karma struck the residents of J124942 for their attempts to kill Kiatae as on the 30th September they lost a small mining operation (2 retrievers, a Miasmos and all capsules) to a roaming gang of Grand Sky Wizards.

Bob was not impressed J124942 residents, not impressed at all and he reigned vengeance upon you...