EVE Online: At Gunpoint

SBFord

In this bi-weekly column, Ross "White Tree" McDermott of the Council of Stellar Management takes us inside EVE Online to talk about, pontificate on, and ruminate about all things EVE. Check out Ross's inaugural column, One Jump Home: At Gunpoint, and let us know what you think!

While the terrifying roar of 1400mm Tech II Howitzer Artillery might be lost in the deafening silence of space, the sheer unprecedented power that several thousand of them represent unleashing their payloads onto an unsuspecting Carrier class vessel is certainly not. And while this singular act may in and of itself seem uniquely beautiful and powerful as the hull of Thanatos is torn asunder before their wielders very eyes - It is but an infinitely small moment of destruction in the endless roaring maelstrom of chaos and beauty. This is the final stage for many a brave soul, this is the place where the most skill-full of individuals may carve their names into gaming’s hall of glory. This is the Sandbox, where empires worth hundreds of thousands of dollars can rise in days and fall in brief moments of human error. This is EVE Online.

Read more of Ross McDermott's One Jump Home: At Gunpoint.

Ikeda

So.. ummm.. where are the opinions, analysis, and pontifications of Eve?

This entire article did nothing but follow the exploits of one group, the Northern Coalition.

The least you could do is explain how this recent expansionist series of moves relates in the universe.  Where do you think they'll move next?  Why did they do so?  Was it strictly for the Tier-2 metals?

Also, read and heed:

"God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by." - Mark Twain

 

Editted

sudo

Monocle, anybody?

Uhwop

Wish they would come back to VFK.  I was a happy little merchant for a week or so with all the ships and ammunition I was selling.  Without ever leaving the station, I was able to contribute to the "effort" to save VFK, by simply providing the goods our pilots needed to fight back.  Can't say that about any other MMO I've ever played.

futnatus

I'm.. I'm going to Download EVE when I've changed my pants...

Inktomi

I'm an EVE player too Ross. Welcome aboard, good luck and  don't drink the water.

eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

Muke

Originally posted by eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

writer is a goon, what more could you have expected from that article..

Chram

Originally posted by eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

 

Probably a troll, but I will bite anyway. 

The fate of tens of thousands characters (ie the whole CF coalition) was hanging on the outcome of this "meaningless battle" . Your definition of "meaningless" is a most curious one. Also the meme about the uselesness of the CSM should be finally put to rest by now. They are not the allmighty saviours, but they surely have an impact and it takes a lot of narrow-mindedness or downright idiocy not to see it.

And to White Tree - great blog, keep it up.

Dubbleedge

Good read.

adam_nox

so in other words... numbers win?

eric_w66

Originally posted by Chram

Originally posted by eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

 

Probably a troll, but I will bite anyway. 

The fate of tens of thousands characters (ie the whole CF coalition) was hanging on the outcome of this "meaningless battle" . Your definition of "meaningless" is a most curious one. Also the meme about the uselesness of the CSM should be finally put to rest by now. They are not the allmighty saviours, but they surely have an impact and it takes a lot of narrow-mindedness or downright idiocy not to see it.

And to White Tree - great blog, keep it up.

 

 All those characters would have been deleted had they lost?!?! When did Eve institute permadeath???

Oh wait, they didn't. So, in fact, it was a meaningless battle to the thousands of non-CF characters in the universe. And mostly meaningless to the CF characters.

I stand by "meaningless". I've been around since m0o, the names change, the alliances change, yet the meaninglessness of the battles remains the same.

Isturi

I have not played EVE in ahwile. But it seems that it has become a pollitical MMO? if so Why? If I am wrong I do apolagize. It just seems that games are just that are ment to be fun. I guess Drama in a MMO is fun for some?

BTrayaL

Loved the story, want more.

JohnAShepard

eric_w66 You say that this battle was meaningless. I am compelled to ask, have you ever lived in Nullsec, or even lowsec? From the way you have reacted to this article, it comes across to me as if you havent, and therefore are not aware of the remifications of such an event has on the ENTIRE of the Nullsec community. I am just one person of many that was directly affected by this NC battle while living in Querious. When the North was being fought, and then lost, Querious saw an increase in attacks by NC forces. In fact we saw so much traffic that Atlas Alliance and friends (presumably) spoke with different NC forces to get aide in expelling the (at the time) Spanish Inquistion from northern Querious. For those who are not familiar with where Querious is, or who currently lives there here is the dotlan map for the region http://evemaps.dotlan.net/map/Querious

In short, to claim that any major battle such as this is meaningless, is simply incorrect. While it *may* not impact those who live in Highsec, it does have profound impact, and can infact change the face of an entire map in other areas of Nullsec depending on how those battles go, and who was the victor.

Please remember, just because it doesn't affect yourself, doesn't mean that it doesn't affect others somewhere that you are not. Eve is one of the largest sandboxes of all the MMORPG games out there. Everything you do has an affect on someone, somewhere, even if you aren't aware of it. That orca you built and put on the market today, could be the same orca that causes a new up and coming industrial corp to become a major supplier of components and subsystems.

On a more personal note in reguards to the quote that the Fleet Commander said, i wish i had been on their comms to hear it to see if hedid it justice when he said it. Yes, i am a major Star Trek fan, and if that makes me a geek so be it.

Adam1902

EVE player here too, heared about this lol.

Awesome read.

Jackdog

I have played EVE off and on since early beta and think it's the best sandbox game there is. However I am just looking for a couple of hours of light entertainment when I game not a alternate life that requires way more thinking, planning, and plotting than I want to do. I have to do plenty of that in my real life to find it a pleasurable experiance for my spare time

Malcanis

Originally posted by eric_w66

Originally posted by Chram

Originally posted by eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

 

Probably a troll, but I will bite anyway. 

The fate of tens of thousands characters (ie the whole CF coalition) was hanging on the outcome of this "meaningless battle" . Your definition of "meaningless" is a most curious one. Also the meme about the uselesness of the CSM should be finally put to rest by now. They are not the allmighty saviours, but they surely have an impact and it takes a lot of narrow-mindedness or downright idiocy not to see it.

And to White Tree - great blog, keep it up.

 

 All those characters would have been deleted had they lost?!?! When did Eve institute permadeath???

Oh wait, they didn't. So, in fact, it was a meaningless battle to the thousands of non-CF characters in the universe. And mostly meaningless to the CF characters.

I stand by "meaningless". I've been around since m0o, the names change, the alliances change, yet the meaninglessness of the battles remains the same.

 

He said "fate" not "existence".

Exilor

Originally posted by JohnAShepard

eric_w66 You say that this battle was meaningless. I am compelled to ask, have you ever lived in Nullsec, or even lowsec? From the way you have reacted to this article, it comes across to me as if you havent, and therefore are not aware of the remifications of such an event has on the ENTIRE of the Nullsec community. I am just one person of many that was directly affected by this NC battle while living in Querious. When the North was being fought, and then lost, Querious saw an increase in attacks by NC forces. In fact we saw so much traffic that Atlas Alliance and friends (presumably) spoke with different NC forces to get aide in expelling the (at the time) Spanish Inquistion from northern Querious. For those who are not familiar with where Querious is, or who currently lives there here is the dotlan map for the region http://evemaps.dotlan.net/map/Querious

Are/were they actually spanish? I'm curious because I've seen very few spaniards in EVE.

Zookz1

Sometimes it's hard to read the forums on this site. This was a good post. It was entertaining to read, but of course the bitter cynical MMO vets can't stand something positive so they have to come shit up every single thread there is.

 

OP, this was a lot of fun to read. Please do more.

Uhwop

Originally posted by Muke

Originally posted by eric_w66

This would have been worth reading if he'd talked about stuff that mattered, like how the CSM is a joke, and CCP thinks its players aren't bright enough to figure out what CCP is doing making a $70 monocle.

Instead we get an AAR of some meaningless battle.   I want my 2 minutes of life back!

writer is a goon, what more could you have expected from that article..

 White Tree isn't a goon!  The writing alone should have been clue enough that a goon didn't write it.  It's to well written.

 

And lol at the guy who thinks the events in the article are meaningless.  It effects thousands of people, some in a very significant way, or would have been had a station been lost.  Losing a capital ship is extremely meaningful, on both sides. 

Vonatar

Now what did I read someone say about Eve the other day? Something like "intellectual masturbation while looking at spreadsheets with a space wallpaper". Thought it was quite apt.

White_Tree

Originally posted by Vonatar

Now what did I read someone say about Eve the other day? Something like "intellectual masturbation while looking at spreadsheets with a space wallpaper". Thought it was quite apt.

Luckily I was like this before I played EVE Online!

 

And yes, I'm not a member of Goonswarm but I did participate in VFK. It was the most pressing and immediate event in the game with regards to the motions of the monstrous blocks that the game is famous for.

 

Don't worry folks, I'll be writting about much more in the future. Thankyou for the reads and the welcome to the MMORPG.com community!

Zanis_Garde

I really WAS there! Good times. ALPHA FLEET FOREVA!!!!

happyfarts

eve is quite a unique game, i only wish there was a fantasy genre mmo which resembled EvE

not big on spaceships :P

gmeurders

Heh. Nice to see CCP are making steady progress turning the CSM into an instrument of advocacy .