Motivated Grief

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

With the recent completion of the 3rd installment of the Hulkageddon last month, @CyberinEVE, author of Hands Off, My Loots!, asks: “Griefing is a very big part of EVE. Ninja Salvaging, Suicide Ganking, Trolling, and Scamming are all a very large part of the game. What do you think about all these things? You can talk about one, or all…but just let us know your overall opinion on Griefing, and any recommendations you may have to change it if you think it’s needed.”

I don't understand how making someone else feel bad creates pleasure for an individual.  It must increase one's sense of personal power.  I can't say that video game "tears" provide any energy for myself, but I imagine it is like kids in elementary school making fun of the dumb kid or the fat kid to make themselves feel better about their existential experience.  

I certainly enjoy the pleasure of shooting a red in nullsec.  I completely understand the lure of piracy, ninja-ing, and suicide ganking as entertaining gameplay, but these pastimes don't strike me as griefing.  EVE is based on competition and economic scarcity, blowing up ships and being at risk of gank at all times adds to the drama and in-game dynamic tension.  We kill each other in EVE because it is really fun, even when you get on the wrong side of a Pandemic Legion death fleet!   We also kill to make ISK, which is also completely legit in my book.  Specifically trying to hurt someone's feelings to create pleasure is lame and betrays psychopathological motivations.  It comes down to the Ego.  What drives your pleasure shows your character.

This question dips into interesting territory as our culture moves more into virtual experience as a social phenomenon.  We have all heard "I am just role playing a griefer, you are just too X-Y-Z to get it."  Being able to dip into the taboo or dark side experience could be very useful for self-definition.  It could also be corruptive.  Who am I? (in game?)  What gives me pleasure? (in game?)  How will I achieve my objectives? (in game?)

Do these virtual choices affect "Real Life?"  Does playing a psychopath in a game lead to antisocial behaviors?  Is there a difference between shooting virtual creatures in Halo and "griefing" conscious individuals for fun in EVE in the impact on one's conscience, empathy, and character?  Maybe it is all "lolz" and I am wasting neurons asking these questions!

For my EVE experience, it all boils down to the fact that there are plenty of antisocial predators in real life.  Having New Eden chock full of griefers just makes EVE that much more realistic, dark, and entertaining.  At the same time, I prefer to surround myself with fun loving, light-hearted, silly individuals.  I also make a point of only trusting pilots I know in real life!

I think motivation separates griefing from gameplay in EVE.  If you are ganking or ninja-ing to make ISK, good for you!  If you experience elation when your team "wins" the battle, you are experiencing the same feeling sportsmen have enjoyed since the ancient Olympians.  If you are getting a charge from ruining someone's day, you are lame and a griefer.  You can gank someone and still be a good sport.   It is a game and it is fun to compete in this way.  If you are trying to hurt someone's feelings just for your sadistic pleasure, I hope it is useful on your personal journey.

The Naked Emperor

Having started my 0.0 time as an Atlas renter, it is very interesting to watch their Empire crumble away. Given the potential upsides of rental situations to landlord and tenant, I was surprised to see how terrible Atlas treated their tenants during my time in the southeast.

Whenever Atlas pilots were around, they made it very clear that renters were nothing but stupid annoyances unworthy of any basic respect. Atlas acted like they couldn't be bothered to defend such worthless noobs when the PL and RUS train came rolling. Looking back, it is clear that Atlas had internally decomposed to the point that they couldn't actually serve as liege or protector. Their leadership didn't care about the renters, but they also didn't care about their Empire.

It will be interesting to see if they can hold onto "Fortress Omist" under pressure.

Null sec holds so much promise for all types of pilots if decent leadership can shepherd a situation that allows a balanced ecosystem to flourish. Atlas has demonstrated very well how not to administer a 0.0 empire.

Despite the never ending criticism leveled at the NC, they are at least respectful to their members. Their model outlasted the recent invasion by Atlas and friends. It will be fun to watch how things develop in the future as the Russian incursion plays out. BFF!

Kugu gems

Eve - lower your expectations and pants

(Thanks, Krutoj)

Null sec overdrive

Dominion has brought serious changes to Null sec that are just beginning to be felt.  Fiddler's Edge has a great overview of the change in 0.0 and the rise of mega wealth derived from Care-Bears.

 

Most traditional 0.0 Alliances have a love-hate relationship with Industrial activity.  PVPers depend on income from ratting or trade, and benefit from well-stocked markets.  On the other hand, having a defense CTA fizzle because only 10% of pilots are willing to fight is a great way to lose morale and sovereignty.  I have seen that sort of failcascade from the inside out in my brief 9 months in 0.0.  This experience brings some insights into maximizing null-sec resources.

 

Renting Sovereignty is inefficient and chaotic.  There is drama, corp/Alliance failure and constant turnover that saps the administering Alliance's time and energy.  The "landlord" has to constantly mediate the whiners and obnoxious individuals that sneak through even the best screening processes.  For the subject Alliances, the constant payments sap their strength and this drain makes it very difficult to transition from renter to a position of strength.  The landlord Alliance also will usually prefer that the renter not become too powerful, as that can be a threat to the dominating power.

 

PVP oriented organizations rightly need to avoid diluting their focus with a cadre of non-aggressive spreadsheet fetishists.  However, the PVP Alliances will hugely benefit from the income and convenience a care bear dominated market and region can bring.  In the past, some organizations have explored splitting their focus with divisions between -A- and AAA Citizens for example.  However, I feel that this approach "dilutes the brand" of the liege Alliance without providing real benefit beyond the lead Alliance not having to maintain the sov space that is rented out in this manner.

 

Based on my observations in nullsec, I would propose a more efficient organizational structure to maximize Sov space profitability.   In this set-up, all station systems are held by the main Alliance in the region/constellation.  Industrial Corps are recruited into an Industrial-focused Alliance affiliated with the landlord who can negotiate NAP status with major allies.  The mindblowing innovation I am proposing is that NO RENT be charged to the members of the Industrial Alliance.  Instead, the landlord will make their money from Station taxes and fees with very little drama/oversight required.  Office rentals in the stations will alone provide a huge source of constant steady income.  By not charging rent, you alleviate the need to micro-manage while also boosting the perceived value of occupying your space.  I have seen the ISK numbers involved in managing multiple stations, and they are huge.

 

By setting this system up, huge numbers of "carebears" can be enticed to the depths of nullsec to shoot rats, mine, and run complexes.  These Industrial/PVE focused pilots will spend huge amounts of money in the local markets, which will boom as the population increases.  This market activity along with a cut of refinery activity will make serious ISK for the Military Alliance.  Having huge reserves of PVE fodder is also good for the small gang PVP lovers in the main Alliance, as it will attract pirates and roaming small gangs that need to be fought off.  Controlling shares in the Industrial Alliance would be distributed to alts of the controllers of the main Alliance to minimize risk of betrayal/sabotage. 

 

In addition, a certain not-insignificant percentage of nullsec "carebear" pilots will develop an interest in PVP activity and eventually be a potential recruitment source for the main Alliance.  Having cross-Alliance ops such as the NC runs can give pilots in the Industrial corps a chance to explore PVP and contribute to the cause without bringing the main PVP focused Alliance down.  Ops that require security can exclude the Bear-squad to minimize spies, who would likely have an easier time infiltrating Industrial corps.

 

I think this organization would allow huge numbers of pilots to maximize resource extraction without the security risks and "dead-weight" syndrome that can cause "corp-rot" from too much PVE activity in nullsec.  The Administering Alliance would likely reserve a few of the most "choice" low true-sec systems for their pilots to exploit to regenerate needed ISK.  It would be easy to reserve access to certain systems for the Alliance's pilots while radically increasing overall constellation density.  There are very few negatives to filling up your un-used nullsec with carebear hordes.

 

In summary, Goonfleet Federation needs a Goonbear Federation; IT Alliance needs BoBears; Red.Overlord needs the Red.BearMasters.  I predict that the Alliances that master carebear synergy while maintaining a PVP elite capable of holding onto Sov space will flourish in the near future.  As the ISK flows, supercaps will follow!

 

 

Sublime Crime!

I broke down last night and purchased APB on Steam.  I had played the 5 hours that were allowed in the open Beta and had a blast.  I was looking for a massive FPS to tide me over until either Dust or Planetside 2 comes to PC.  (I know Dust is headed to consoles first, but I am not a big fan of console gaming.)  The main contenders were APB and Global Agenda.  They both have strongpoints, but the customization and style of APB pulled me towards crime sprees and away from futuristic paramilitary fighting.

 

The character customization in APB is really nice.  I spent a significant amount of time tweaking my look.  (I will try to get a screenshot soon)  Once you are in the active PVP zone, the best strategy is to manually join a group.  If there are multiple players disconnected or if everyone is scattered around the zone, leave and try another group.  The gang warfare is excellent, and the mission system is nice in the way it funnels good guys vs. bad guys dynamically.  In the first night of play I was able to upgrade my weapons to be more effective.  By using cover and following a more experienced player with better weapons, you can help out and get kills right from the start.

 

The MMOish features in APB are slick.  There is a step sequencer/synthesizer that allows you to make your own theme song.  This will play to the enemy when you frag them!  I had a blast making a dark, echoed, techno freakout to assault the ears of my victims.  You can also customize your look, your clothes, and your car.  If motivated, you can design your own tattoos and symbols.

 

One of the very fun ways to trigger a mission in ABP as a criminal is to drive around the city mowing down pedestrians and wreaking general havoc.  This behavior will spawn a mission for "Enforcer" characters to bring you to justice.  You have 10 minutes to evade capture while they hunt you down and try to kill or subdue you.  Driving is fun in the game, and there are many different car-jackable vehicles with different speed, handling, and toughness.  You can drive around the city evading the Enforcers and then jump out and run into an alley for a little urban warfare.  It feels very "movie like."  I found myself howling with laughter often during my first night of play.

 

Some people are saying that APB is not an MMO.  I'm not sure I agree, but I mainly don't care.  The game is fun: you can shoot people in the face, drive over them at silly speeds, explode cars, snipe, run-and-gun and develop a wicked individualized avatar.  The graphics are beautiful, and can run smoothly at 1920x1080 on high settings on an ATI 4870.  I found it to be very slightly choppy on maximum setting, while high was smooth even with lots of people running around.  You would need a faster card than a 4870 to completely max out the graphics with a big monitor.

 

Overall, I think APB is a great compliment to EVE.  It provides a burst of kill that is quick and accessible.  It really makes me realize that CCP needs to flesh out Dust and eventually bring squad based FPS into the PC EVE client. Then I wouldn't have to dip into another virtual universe for that visceral FPS PVP fix! 

Don't count your eggs before they hatch!

Elite PVP Battle report!

If you enjoy reading elite PVP EVE blogs, move on along. I am slowly learning some PVP ropes, and today I aquired several burns!

We had a big CTA because of the Goon's new Eastern focus. It was fun to see over a hundred ships assembling in a fleet. The lag really is amazingly problematic, even with just 150 ships or so. I really hope CCP is working hard on fixing that!



We moved into position and camped some strategic gates while the big brains developed a strategy for the battles of the day. When the first big fight happened, I was about the third pilot targeted. I asked for logistics but my buffer Brutix evaporated in a few seconds from the concentrated DPS of dozens of Battleships. With the lag, there was no time for a Logi pilot to get me locked!

I flew my Pod though seriously red Goon infested space, bouncing off planets to dodge the blood thirsty enemies. I managed to make it 4 jumps to an NPC station in Curse with an Atron available. Sadly, that station had no useful mods, so I had to fly "naked" without any mods another 3 jumps to a station with some basic mods to get me back in the fight. Each time I loaded a system it took from 30 seconds to a few minutes to load. Miraculously, I got the Atron into our engagement system to try to help tackle. I rarely fly Atrons, preferring Ishkurs or Incursus', and I was not a ton of help as the engagement was at sniping ranges. I orbited our logistics, hoping to at least be helpful if an interceptor came in close.

We fell back to another system and assembled at a gate to await reinforcements. We were hanging at the gate when BOOM! - I got killed by Goon bombers for the first time! I doubt it is the last time I'll get smoked by a Goonie... They got my POD with a subsequent bomb about a second later. I then realized that I was out in my main clone with all Level 4 implants...

To really make the day awesome, I later tried to help a local pilot in our homespace who was being attacked by a Curse, Vagabond, and Malediction. I warped in with my Ishkur, and got to experience the serious pain of being Neuted to the point of having no cap, no mods, and being unable to warp out while the enemies leisurely take their time shooting you. It was great fun, and I learned to avoid Curses like the plague without some serious backup. (I did have some backup, but no ECM or logistics.)

In short, I got seriously creamed today, 3 times! It was great fun. The PVP is hooking me deeply, but if you see me coming, I wouldn't worry too much -- YET!