Sunday, February 28, 2021

Interview with Hideo Date of Eve University



1: What motivates you to Play Eve online specifically, compared to other games you may play?

The vast, complex and beautiful universe which allows you to do pretty much anything you can think of - if we are strictly talking of the game itself.

Central to any MMO is of course achieving something together with others. An aspect I generally like about them - in WoW I did a fair bit of raiding and group PvP - but in EVE I feel the sense of group achievements being something awesome is far more pronounced. And that applies to all levels and types of group activities: from a dual roam to small fleet to Corp/alliance management.

And with this, of course I have to mention the community. Specifically EVE University, but the wider community as well. I think it is a testament to the unmatched complexity of the game that we have - pretty much from the beginning - an organisation with a highly developed structure focused solely on helping players learn about the game.

2: Who are your main characters and who are they?

Well, in contrast to most EVE players I only really play this one character: Hideo Date. I do have a hauler alt on the same account and I do have a couple traders on an alpha account. But only the hauler gets somewhat regularly used.

I'll have to rant a bit on this one actually: I totally get why people have alts or even multiple mains where they focus on different aspects of the game. Especially nowadays in EVE Uni we have quite a few people who actively contribute with a character to the Uni, but also have mains in other corps.

And of course using multiple characters at a time is done widely, it often adds quality of life: scouts, salvagers, combat alts to "solo" group content. I got a friend who has his own mining fleet. All cool, but just not my playstyle.

But what I do have a problem with is, that with the proliferation of alts the expectation to have and actively use them is widespread. 

I once saw an info graphic from a null bloc that showed you where supposed to have your own alt support fleet to even be allowed to fly a Titan. That concept really baffles me, shouldn't the group I bring the most powerful weapons to make sure that they have a support network set up?

But apart from this kind of content (which most people never experience anyway), there are other parts of the game that are kinda blocked off due to these expectations. You can't fly a Jump Freighter without having at least a few cyno alts. Generally cyno alts are a must for any capital ship player. Wormholers seem to have an expectation that you are supposed to have at least a few characters in the chain.

What my gripe with all of this is? It takes away from what I find most appealing about the game: achieving things together. Sure it's so much more convenient if everybody brings his fleet of alts, than to build up and coordinate support networks, but for me personally it detracts from the game.

3: What do you characters do, or what positions do they hold?

I am a member of EVE University and currently a communications officer, working on PR and facilitating internal communication as well. Also a budding FC (fleet streamed every Monday at 1800 on twitch.tv/hideodate) and hopefully can get some time to become a teacher as well.

Otherwise I like to do a variety of things. But apart from PvP what I most enjoy is exploration. Did that with Probes, Cheetahs, Stilettos before and just did my first two trips with an Astero (even got a couple killmarks). For next Month Kelon Darklight is sponsoring a solo PvP event again, so I will take that as an opportunity to get back into doing that as well. Already have a progression path mapped out for me.

4: What is your personal main driving point that makes you play these character(s)? And how do you approach it?

Well, seeing as I am pretty ecstatic about EVE Unis mission and community I would say helping in any way I can to further these is a main driving point for me.

How do I do this? I guess mostly by trying to get the word out about all the great things we are doing in EVE Uni. Also trying to be more proactive about creating content (like my regular fleet now, and hopefully regular classes later as well).

5: Do you have some sort of goal you want to reach for your character(s)?

A general goal for me is to experience as much as I can in New Eden. My first significant step in that direction will be to join and organise events and fleets all around our campuses, completing our Cross Campus Initiative program and earning a shiny medal on the way.

Long-term I think I might leave the Uni for a couple years. I want to at least try and experience sov warfare and I would really like to be in a dedicated high class wormhole group for a while. But ultimately I think those will just be intermissions for me to come back to the Uni with more experience to give back.

6: Are there any RL factors as to why you play the characters as you do?

I suppose so. I like roleplaying, though I don't really actively do it in EVE. But any character I ever played and indeed the - I guess you could call it mask - I am wearing now is not far from my actual personality, I think. I am just better able to be a bit more outgoing that way. Though my general introvertedness probably still shines through and from time to time my social anxiety kicks in.

7: How old are you personally? If you don't mind me asking.

I think younger than most people I interact with regularly in EVE. Just 31. And I created this character when I was 23, joined EVE Uni when I was 27. And will probably still be in EVE Uni when I turn 35 at least :D

8: Do any of your real life perspectives influence how you run your character(s)?

Probably. I am a trained nurse and currently a nursing teacher, so the mentality of helping others to help themselves, building relationships and teaching others go quite well with what I do in EVE.

9: Do you have any personal objectives you strive for while in your character(s)?

Develop my people skills ("soft skills", but these are actually essential, as people should be aware by now). Getting better at English. Develop skills related to social media, writing, general creative skills. Hopefully getting some skills in graphics, video and streaming.

10: Does your character(s) let you play out something that you wish you could do IRL?

Well, I do mostly enjoy PvP. And that is certainly not something I want to experience IRL, I am more of a pacifist myself. But the other thing I really like is exploring. And seeing as I can't fly around the RL Universe in an actual rust bucket, I guess that is something fitting to your question.




 

Interview with Rixx Javix of Eve Online

 Since I started doing these interviews, I have always wanted to know someone who play a pirate in game and wondered how they played their characters. This is a small look into someone who not only plays a pirate but leads the biggest pirate corporation within the game!

I have also linked his artwork, blog and Twitter accounts below the interview. Give him a follow and support his awesome artwork!


What motivates you to Play Eve online specifically, compared to other games you may play?

I’ve never encountered anything that presents the constant challenges, complexity, and depth that Eve Online presents. Every time I log-in I’m presented with new adventures and opportunities to create content, drive conflict, and overcome challenges. This aspect of Eve, combined with the community of friends spread around the globe, has kept me playing for almost 12 years now.

I have one character and his name is Rixx Javix. I have a few support characters that help him with various aspects of the game, but essentially I’ve been playing Rixx exclusively for 12 years now.

Rixx is the CEO of Stay Frosty and Alliance Executor for A Band Apart Alliance in-game. He is the Pirate Lord of Low Sec and runs the largest independent group of traditional Pirates in all of Eve. He’s been -10 for almost ten years straight now and Stay Frosty recently celebrated its seventh anniversary.

I enjoy playing Eve, one of the most complex and difficult games in the world, on Hard Mode. Playing one character, being -10, living in low security space, and flying primarily solo and small gang piracy every single day is really pushing the envelope and is incredibly difficult. I find that rewarding in ways that other play-styles in the game didn’t fulfill for me personally. 

Establishing Stay Frosty and ABA and have them be successful was a huge personal goal for me. Winning the Alliance Tournament is a goal I’ve set for us that we haven’t achieved yet. But mostly I’d enjoy being thought of as someone who contributed content that helped make the game a better experience for all players.

I’m in my early fifties and started playing Eve with my Son during a divorce we were both going through at the time. He still plays as well.

Absolutely. Our Alliance/Corporations have a very strong culture and we do not tolerate hate speech or any other form of conduct that hurts other players in any way. We’re a huge family of players that enjoy playing a game, so certainly my personal beliefs have strongly influenced how I conduct myself in-game. And out of game.

I’ve created an environment inside of Eve that keeps me entertained and engaged, while surrounding myself with friends and fellow players that share those beliefs and goals. Content creation, engagement, and challenging ourselves every day to become better and better solo and small gang pilots. Keeping that going and thriving is an objective that never ends.

This is an interesting question for me. Not so much from my character’s perspective, but from my own. The line between myself and my character disappeared back in 2015 when I created a line of illustrated posters that CCP started selling in the store. Fanfest that year was the first player event I had ever attended. Since then my Wife and I have been to Amsterdam, Iceland (3 times), Toronto, Vegas, Alaska, and have held our own event in our home five years in a row. In addition I make all of my isk in-game by providing other players graphic design services for Alliance logos, streamer graphics, illustration commissions, and much more. So there really isn’t a line between me and my character anymore, we are truly one and the same.



Interview with Laura Karpinski CEO of Eve University

I personally was in Eve University awhile ago before joining the current corporation I am in now. I had not found another corporation and or group of people that had dedicated themselves to the new player experience than I did with Eve University. This Corporation is a must look at for any new player and also for any experienced players wanting to learn even more about anything Eve Online offers it's players.

I have linked the Eve University website and Wiki below the interview for you to check out!





What motivates you to Play Eve online specifically, compared to other games you may play?

Definitely the community. I have never found a community like it in any other game. I’ve made so many close friends in EVE from all across the world, and I’m lucky that I get to spend so much time hanging out with new people.

Who are your main characters and who are they?

My main character is Laura Karpinski, but I have lots of other characters. I have a bit of an addiction to the new player experience - its not unusual for me to roll a new character to try out the tutorial and the start of the game from the perception of a new player. That’s the most exciting part of EVE for me.

What do you characters do, or what positions do they hold?

Laura is the CEO of EVE University, a corporation aimed at teaching players new and old about EVE Online. Several of my alts are used in administrative roles to keep the corporation and the alliance, Ivy League, running smoothly.

What is your personal main driving point that makes you play these character(s)? And how do you approach it?

I love teaching new players and I find their excitement about the game infectious. That feeling you get when you lose your first ship, or get on your first kill, is pure adrenaline, and I love helping new players to experience that and share the experience with them. I just really love EVE and I want to help other people to love it too.

Do you have some sort of goal you want to reach for your character(s)?

My focus is on EVE University, I want to make it as successful as possible and continue the mission to educate players about EVE through the Uniwiki, classes, fleets and so on.

Are there any Rl factors as to why you play the characters as you do?

My hand-eye coordination and reaction speed are both pretty bad, so I’ve historically steered away from most PVP activities for that reason. For the same reason I tend to avoid FPS games and focus more on games that involve strategy and planning.

How old are you personally? If you don't mind me asking.

I’m in my early 30s.

Do any of your real life perspectives influence how you run your character(s)?

I always like to help people in real life, and I have personally experienced issues with my mental health and isolation. I know how important community and online friendship can be to people. So I like to try and foster a friendly and welcoming community where people can escape from whatever is going on in real life and just enjoy themselves.

Do you have any personal objectives you strive for while in your character(s)?

I’ve spent a long time doing PVE and space spreadsheets, so I’d like to try and improve my PVP skills. That’s more of a long term goal though, because I still have so much other stuff left to do.

Does your character(s) let you play out something that you wish you could do IRL?

Yes, being a space boss is awesome! Being responsible for a group of 2,000 people is something I don’t think I will ever have a chance to do in real life. It does have times when it is incredibly difficult, but it is a challenge I feel honoured to have been given the chance to take on.


 

EVE Online 'Reign' Update Improves Fleet Features

New Eve Online Event

 There are few games with a relationship between players and devs quite like EVE Online. EVE's playerbase is known to be cut-throat and competitive, while also being devoted to the title, and its developer is known to foster the unique community of EVE Online as best it can. The result is a game that mixes the civilized with the wild west, where players will start an enormous inter-player war, but put it on hold for the holidays. 

 Players have a much greater impact on the game than in many other titles, MMORPG or otherwise. Many of the most important events in EVE Online are player-driven, as is essentially the game's whole economy. That doesn't mean the developer, CCP Games, is completely hands off though, and it just released an update to help players create Fleets easier.

Saturday, February 27, 2021

10 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Eve Online

Starting Up In Eve Online


There are gamers who play MMORPGs for fun and camaraderie and then there are EVE Online players. It's not that the game isn't fun per se, it's just that it's one of the most complicated sandbox MMORPGs out there. It has even earned another nickname in the gaming community, "spreadsheet simulator" because of how much number-crunching one needs to play the game efficiently. 

How EVE Online and Borderlands 3 merge citizen science and gaming

Eve Online - Free To Play

The idea of citizen science isn’t a new one. Amateur scientists have been making important discoveries as far back as Ug the Neolithic hunter and her 'wheel', while even Newton, Franklin, and Darwin were self-funded for part of their careers, and Herschel discovered Uranus while employed as a musician. It’s only from the late 20th century that it’s crystallised into what we know today, with the North American Butterfly Association using its members to count the popular winged insects since 1975. Zooniverse has users classify images to identify stellar wind bubbles, track coronal mass ejections, and determine the shape of galaxies. Then there’s Folding@Home and other cloud computing projects—they count too.

These citizen science projects are, essentially, experiments in human computation. You can even get paid for doing them through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk programme. What none of them involve, however, is playing PC games. And while sites such as Artigo (artigo.org unless you want a Portuguese flooring company) gamify things a bit by having you assign tags to paintings while paired with another player, scoring points when your tags match, it’s not exactly AAA. Integrating science into a videogame is tricky. We recoil from anything labelled as ‘educational’, but there’s an opportunity here to do real good. Indeed, what started life as a project to map human proteins in EVE Online in 2016 has, via the classification of exoplanets in 2017, come right down to Earth with a project to detect and measure the chemical characteristics of cells—known as flow cyclometry—which has a bearing on the body’s response to COVID-19. EVE calls this Project Discovery, and you access it by clicking the logo in the Neocon menu. Take part, and you can earn exclusive cosmetic customisations for your EVE character

Read More - PC Gamer


 

World Records, Arms Race And Cinematics - An Interview With EVE Online's Creative Director And Brand Manager


Oftentimes when we hear about CCP Games filing away yet another world record for their massively multiplayer game, EVE Online, it's easy to just dismiss it as it's old-hat. At this point, multiple records have been racked up over the years, leading me to joke during the interview that the team is going to have to install a whole new shelf at the office for all the records that come in. But, while the team can justifiably take some pride in what their game is doing, they are also quick to remind people that it's not them setting the records per se. Rather, it's the players themselves doing the hard work.

"If you think about it, the world record, for most players, the new one was achieved on a Tuesday, starting [at] like 2pm Icelandic time. And it went on for 14 hours on a random Tuesday," Sæmi continued. "There was nothing special about this Tuesday apart from the World Records. Having in place the logistics that go behind it, having like a schedule to keep players logging in when others need to leave. Having this stream going on and explaining what's going on like a[n] election night. 'If you're now tuning in, here's to give you a brief of what's going on.' All that effort from the players is what is so cool about this. They are the ones getting these World Records, and all the stories and all the effort that goes into it. That is what is so amazing to me ."

Read More - MMORPG


 

Expert Systems Feature Coming To EVE Online, Though Not Without Controversy

 

New Expert Systems

CCP Games made the announcement via the EVE Online website, outlining what Expert System are and what they are  intended to provide. As a way to help new players navigate EVE Online's complex skill system, CCP is going to be selling Expert Systems, which are a group of skills designed around one of the core gameplay concepts of EVE. This could include skills aimed at helping players learn mining, or ship operation to start exploring right away.

Skills in EVE Online take real world time to train, meaning that in order to start flying that really cool Astero to explore, or jump beyond a simple Retriever for mining ore, players can wait days, even sometimes weeks and months before they can fly their new fit. Skill points are available as Skill Injectors on the in-game market, and CCP sells packages in the EVE Store that offer new players a sizeable stack of skill points in order to fast track the skill queue, but it can be expensive, both in game and out. 

Read More - MMORPG


GUARDIAN'S GALA

 

Eve Online Event

Gatecrashing Capsuleers,

As part of the new Reign Quadrant, the notorious Guardian's Gala event returns to New Eden, and you are once again invited to disrupt the annual Serpentis pirates and Angel Cartel celebrations! There are event sites in known space and wormhole space, daily login rewards, plus 90% PvP loot drops and an increase to warp speed in wormhole space until 11:00 UTC on 23 February.

Guardian's Gala sites in wormhole space offer greater challenges, and contain more lucrative rewards. Valuable loot up for grabs includes Serpentis and Domination faction items, ship SKINs, limited time Skill Point boosters, and Overseers' Effects which can be sold for ISK.

As well as the Guardian's Gala event sites, you can also claim free gifts through the daily login event until 11:00 UTC on 23 February, including Spirit SKINs available for Serpentis ships for the first time, and thousands of Skill Points to help boost your skill training.

Read More - Eve Online

ABYSSAL PROVING GROUNDS RETURN

Proving Grounds
Get yourselves combat-ready, Capsuleers, as the Abyssal Proving Grounds return once more! Until 11:00 UTC on 2 March, you can engage in 4-player free-for-all Combat and Attack Frigate competitive battles.
Permitted hulls for this round consist of the Atron, Breacher, Condor, Executioner, Incursus, Kestrel, Merlin, Punisher, Rifter, Slasher, Tormentor, and Tristan.

  • Limitations for this round are:
  • Modules limited to meta level 5 and below
  • No pirate implants

Make sure you have your Proving Filaments ready, either from Abyssal Deadspace loot drops or from the in-game market. You can also track Capsuleer performance in the Proving Grounds using the leaderboards!

Friday, February 26, 2021

World Records, Arms Race And Cinematics - An Interview With EVE Online's Creative Director And Brand Manager






Oftentimes when we hear about CCP Games filing away yet another world record for their massively multiplayer game, EVE Online, it's easy to just dismiss it as it's old-hat. At this point, multiple records have been racked up over the years, leading me to joke during the interview that the team is going to have to install a whole new shelf at the office for all the records that come in. But, while the team can justifiably take some pride in what their game is doing, they are also quick to remind people that it's not them setting the records per se. Rather, it's the players themselves doing the hard work.





"If you think about it, the world record, for most players, the new one was achieved on a Tuesday, starting [at] like 2pm Icelandic time. And it went on for 14 hours on a random Tuesday," Sæmi continued. "There was nothing special about this Tuesday apart from the World Records. Having in place the logistics that go behind it, having like a schedule to keep players logging in when others need to leave. Having this stream going on and explaining what's going on like a[n] election night. 'If you're now tuning in, here's to give you a brief of what's going on.' All that effort from the players is what is so cool about this. They are the ones getting these World Records, and all the stories and all the effort that goes into it. That is what is so amazing to me ."





Read More - MMORPG


Expert Systems Feature Coming To EVE Online, Though Not Without Controversy






CCP Games made the announcement via the EVE Online website, outlining what Expert System are and what they are  intended to provide. As a way to help new players navigate EVE Online's complex skill system, CCP is going to be selling Expert Systems, which are a group of skills designed around one of the core gameplay concepts of EVE. This could include skills aimed at helping players learn mining, or ship operation to start exploring right away.





Skills in EVE Online take real world time to train, meaning that in order to start flying that really cool Astero to explore, or jump beyond a simple Retriever for mining ore, players can wait days, even sometimes weeks and months before they can fly their new fit. Skill points are available as Skill Injectors on the in-game market, and CCP sells packages in the EVE Store that offer new players a sizeable stack of skill points in order to fast track the skill queue, but it can be expensive, both in game and out. 





Read More - MMORPG


ABYSSAL PROVING GROUNDS RETURN






Get yourselves combat-ready, Capsuleers, as the Abyssal Proving Grounds return once more! Until 11:00 UTC on 2 March, you can engage in 4-player free-for-all Combat and Attack Frigate competitive battles.





Permitted hulls for this round consist of the Atron, Breacher, Condor, Executioner, Incursus, Kestrel, Merlin, Punisher, Rifter, Slasher, Tormentor, and Tristan.





Limitations for this round are:





  • Modules limited to meta level 5 and below
  • No pirate implants




Make sure you have your Proving Filaments ready, either from Abyssal Deadspace loot drops or from the in-game market. You can also track Capsuleer performance in the Proving Grounds using the leaderboards!





Source - Eve Online


Thursday, February 11, 2021

GUARDIAN'S GALA






Gatecrashing Capsuleers,





As part of the new Reign Quadrant, the notorious Guardian's Gala event returns to New Eden, and you are once again invited to disrupt the annual Serpentis pirates and Angel Cartel celebrations! There are event sites in known space and wormhole space, daily login rewards, plus 90% PvP loot drops and an increase to warp speed in wormhole space until 11:00 UTC on 23 February.





Guardian's Gala sites in wormhole space offer greater challenges, and contain more lucrative rewards. Valuable loot up for grabs includes Serpentis and Domination faction items, ship SKINs, limited time Skill Point boosters, and Overseers' Effects which can be sold for ISK.





As well as the Guardian's Gala event sites, you can also claim free gifts through the daily login event until 11:00 UTC on 23 February, including Spirit SKINs available for Serpentis ships for the first time, and thousands of Skill Points to help boost your skill training.





Read More - Eve Online


Tuesday, February 9, 2021

REIGN - NEW QUADRANT BEGINS TODAY







https://youtu.be/tLgFaJ1QlSM




Achieve tactical supremacy and victory in New Eden with EVE Online's new Quadrant "Reign", the first in 2021! Launching a new year of Quadrants after 2020's successful introduction of themed content for EVE, Reign brings with it exciting new updates to fleets and travel, continuous balance and meta changes, plus returning events such as the Guardian's Gala and The Hunt.





Fleet options in EVE will improve during the Reign Quadrant thanks to the Fleet Discovery update.





Many more upcoming changes will soon see the light as the Quadrant progresses, as has been the case for all of EVE's Quadrants so far. One upcoming change will give Capsuleers more control over fleet formations and presence on the battlefield. For the curious, the Quadrant trailer is a solid starting point for theory crafters.





Read More - Eve Online


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