Know Your Scams: Gravimetric Sensor Cluster

Setup

The scammer advertises in local:

Oh wow, look at this a module that will protect you from "nasty gankers" who prowl New Eden looking for targets. If you have this in your cargohold, and you can use it more than once, and when the ganker tries to fire on you this will cause you to warp to a gravimetric site that only you can access.

Clicking on the contract, which is typically an auction, you will see this:

What Happens Now

The mark will see the contract and may, if they're concerned about gankers, bid upon the item and continue to until they win. 

How Can I Protect Myself

Firstly, remember Rule #1, anything posted in local in a trade hub is going to be a scam and you should not accept any contract without seriously checking on the contents and issuer.

You can confirm whether or not this magic item does what the issuer says if you look at the details for the item:

You can see, after a little patient checking that it makes no mention of the "wonders" that the contract issuer says it does about being able to escape gankers. It's not even a ship module, its used in the production of Caldari Ships.

Know Your Scams: High SP Character for Sale

Setup

The scammer advertises in Local:

Linked contract shows the following (implant and cost may vary depending on the SP the 'character' has):

What Happens Now

The scammer is hoping the mark does not know you can't trade characters via contracts and is trying a very poor scam.

The implant is worth between 9m and 20m ISK and they're advertising it as a character with 200m skillpoints so have a price of 200m ISK.

How Do You Protect Myself

Firstly, remember Rule #1, anything posted in local in a trade hub is going to be a scam and you should not accept any contract without seriously checking on the contents and issuer.

In this case it should be clear to all but the most remote hermit that:

• characters cannot be traded in-game via contracts.
• an implant is shown not the name of a character
• the value of the contract that the issuer wants is the same as the SP they say the character has

This is a very poor scam but one that can catch new players out. As always check, double check and then triple check the contract details and its clear no character is being sold and its a cheap implant.

Block the issuer.

Know Your Scams: Plex Wraps

Setup

The scammer advertises in Local:

This is a variation on the Plex Box or Lucky Dip box scam that have been seen before.

In this instance the scammer includes a link to an image that perportedly shows what is in each box:

What Happens Now

They want people to buy the contract so pricing at 60m is a boon when they are advertising that there are TWO PLEX in every box.

The scam will repeat with new boxes appearing when unsuspecting marks buy them.

How Can I Protect Myself

Firstly, remember Rule #1, anything posted in local in a trade hub is going to be a scam and you should not accept any contract without seriously checking on the contents and issuer.

With this scam the added image contains all the evidence that this is indeed a scam. Let's look closer:

The Local window is used to show the user is active and this isn't an old contract setup but its the hanger view that quickly gives this away.

The fact Item Hanger is selected and you can see both the wraps and the PLEX shows that the plex are NOT in the wraps. If the were the image would have shown each Wrap being selected in order to show the content.

The Wraps clearly contain junk and no PLEX whatsoever.

Block the issuer and think no more of it.

EVE Online Wiki Obsolete?

I was doing some research for a upcoming post and needed to find out the specifications of the Endurance mining frigate. Usually I just do a search for "[ship] eve" and in the first page of results will be a link to the EVE Online Wiki for the ship in question.

Except it didn't happen for the Endurance, so I went to the EVE Online Wiki and navigated to the Advanced Frigates page:

Urm.. there is something missing there. Where is the sections for Expedition and Logistics Frigates?

So I checked further, the new Destroyers aren't in the Wiki either and it appears that ALL the changes made to the game in the Frostline release (dated 8th December 2015) have not made their way into the Wiki at all.

Tardy or Forgotten

It appears the EVE Online Wiki, the font of knowledge that new players are encouraged to learn and navigate (despite the terrible interface and abysmal performance) is out of date. 

I can understand the Christmas break has reduced resources but in any Development Plan for a release I'd certainly have an update of the Wiki as a medium to high priority item. After all its the defacto source of information on the game.

Bugs I can understand but not updating documentation before a release is downright tardy. I know the point is people can contribute to the wiki but this is base game information that people should add to not have to add.

Hopefully the Wiki will be in for an update in the New Year and who knows if they don't I may just have to go and start adding stuff thats missing to make a point.

384 Minutes

Action

I was involved in a WH operation in mid-November and was flying a Nestor for the first time. I had a RR/Cap buddy and all went well, the buddy was decent and we managed to avoid taking too much fire whilst keeping our friends alive with RR.

The fight was enjoyable but after it was over I really wanted to get out and back to high sec after downtime. 

So I log and then login again after DT and exit via the connection we have to a WH that has a high sec static except the wormhole closes as I pass through, and I didn't notice. I warp off to the high sec I know exists only to find it has disappeared. Ah, urm... bugger.

Perhaps I need to log again and wait 15 minutes as sometimes the HS WH's don't spawn unless the HS has been loaded. 

I login again, the WH is dead. It's a goner too.

Hmm.

Options

Well I had ignored the standing rule of WH's to always have a depot and a probe launcher with core probes in the cargo hold (I later found I did have these.... back in Jita where I bought the ship). So I can't get out, do I suicide?

I can't do that, it's a 1.7b ship and another 300m in implants. If I have to I'll have to do it, the ISK means little I just don't want to do it in a ship I've flown once. So I decide to logout but post in Local before I do in case someone is here. 

Nope. All quiet just the Sleepers and me.

So I log off.

Wavey Timey Wimey

Over the next two weeks I login daily and sit, cloaked, watching d-scan and saying hello in local.

For two weeks nothing, nadda, zip, bugger all. I see ships pass by but no-one answers me back.

Salvation?

It's been two weeks and two days (384 minutes) since I was stuck, by my own stupidity, in this WH. I really was getting close to suicide but I saw an interceptor on d-scan and quickly said hello.

And I got a reply!

The pilot was understanding in my predicament and offered to give me an out via the HS in system, he was using it himself. I really didn't care at this point if it was going to be a trap or he was really helping so I joined his fleet and warped to him.

To land on the K162 WH to high sec.

So, Altair Taff, I thank you for saving my ass from suicide in an unknown WH system and I've rewarded your good samaratian act with 250m ISK as a thank you.

So 384 minutes after he was stuck my WH character was able to return to inhabited space and finally get to use the toilet :)

Citadels - First View

Both Trinket's Friend and Bex have posted in their, respective, blogs about the coming of Citadels and how large they will be based on the following image:

I've been involved in the manufacture of two stations so far in EVE Online:

• one, was periphery, when I was in Providence and I provided some materials for that but did not participate in he actual setup or assembly.
• the second was as a favour to a friend in a (renting) null sec alliance who needed a lot of PI and minerals but did not want it to be known they were buying them (I also helped move about 11m m3 from high sec to null sec via my JF's)

I'm not sure which station I helped with for the second one, alas my friend left the game just after the jump changes, and I never found out what the station was.

Show Me The Money

Both TF and Bex talk about the cost, after all if you want one you've got to have the bank roll for it because if it's anything like a station or other structure it will need minerals, PI products and perhaps a few other things to make.

The image above shows the purported size of a medium citadel compared to an Avatar titan. very impressive in terms of size but we still don't know how CCP are going to deal with the logistical needs or costs to assemble one.

TF has, logically, inferred that a POCO could be considered a "medium sized" structure and setting up one of these costs around 100m ISK. A POCO needs four PI types and a gantry to assemble and these come out at around that cost.

Now it's ridiculous to imagine that this would be the cost of a citadel, it's too little for this structure, a more reasonable cost base would be in the low billions. Personally I think between 1.5 and 3 billion is what it may cost. I see either a large amount of minerals or perhaps a new "framework" object (like the POCO gantry) that you create, move into place then fill with extra materials (in the same way you construct stations) then after a period of time your station is complete.

Between 1.5 and 3 billion ISK for a medium structure seems reasonable to me.

Time-wise, it will take at least a couple of weeks to make one. Unless you're a major null sec alliance who hordes and has large stockpiles of materials, in which case you'll be able to assemble as soon as you can move it.

Speculation

Details on citadels are still vapour, we don't know anything about:

• handling loot/destroyed structures
• how defence weapons will be controlled/configured to work
• system indexes and influence of any structure on them
• vulnerability windows/protection
• whether structures will function/be deployable in wormhole space and, if so, how that will exert influence on WH system
• ship docking/mooring
• taxes/fees/(any) fuel use requirements

and a host of other questions I and others will have. We are starting to see information forthcoming but so far its just from the art department. Hopefully a devblog or further "leaks" will come soon and allow players to start understanding this major new game mechanic.

Silent Runnings

Be Very Quiet

Mrs CEO and I celebrated the birth of our second child (a boy) in late October and this is the primary reason I've been quiet. It's very hard to write new posts, edit ones for publication and even play EVE during a newborns first few weeks.

We've had a few problems, nothing major and certainly nothing that needs a kickstarter or a "sob post" about. Babies have issues, like all things identify what you can control/change and do it. So we did, turns out he might have diary allergies like my side of the family has suffered from.

We did have a very stressful lead up to Christmas as the Monday before he and his older brother were admitted to hospital with an acute viral infection. What we have no idea, the doctors have no idea but they didn't leave hospital until the 24th and then it was into the car for the trip to "the in-laws" and the family Christmas.

We shall sum up that social gathering as "thank fuck its over". With luck I won't see that side of the family for AT LEAST the next three to six months 

Mistress EVE

I have kept up with EVE, using some of my wealth to PLEX accounts instead of paying for them, and have maintained my tower setup and even branched out into more T2 production thanks to new contacts and people I've met.

EVE really is a two edged blade at times. Some days I hate having to do my tower maintenance and the other nit-picking things but then other days I love to dive in and see what my buy/sell order speculation has netted me.

Null Sec Life

Life in Null Sec plods on. I say plod but lots of exciting things have been happening. 

• Operation Frostline sites have appeared and my ratting ship easily handles them (not as quickly as a Smart Bomb Rokh but still I like an element of manual control). I have gotten so many Quafe Zero but I'm yet to see the fabled "PLEX drop"
• Endurance, its a lovely ship and I've invested in a dozen of them for use in Null Sec to mine the local minerals and ice belts (when safe). 30 second cycles on Ice Mining Laser II's is turning a profit within an hour on each ship.
• Logistics are still a pain but I'm not that far into null sec that its too much work. I just wish I could have a few extra ly range on my JF. Still a trip at least once a week to bring in and take out what I'm making. It's profitable but....
• I've found a few local sources and have been in negotiation to buy from/sell to them. Christmas has interuptted this but I'm sure early 2016 I'll be able to source a few raw materials locally and for a better price than Jita Sell.

Possible Expansion

My alliance is doing great work with their own towers in low sec, they're getting fights but also generating passive ISK for very little work. I get materials I need and its win-win all around. 

Seems though the expansion is continuing as they're gotten close to a group in and around Molden Heath and we're starting to see some possibilities opening up there for getting more towers and materials.

World of Warships

Avast Yee Land and Space Lovers.... yeah no won't do that again. 

I'm still finding WoWS a good distraction when EVE is either quiet or I need some time to just relax. Bex plays too and we've had some good games recently enough that we're both going up the Tiers nicely in Russian Destroyers.

I've downloaded FRAPS again (I bought it years ago) and I'm starting to record a few games to video that I'll probably upload to YouTube because they're either great games or contain moments of genius or luck.

The Future

I'm starting to write more and I'm aiming to draft a post at least every day and post a finished one at least four times a week. I would love to do a Ripard Teg and do daily but I don't think I quite have the content or intelligence to pull that off :)