OOC————–

Welcome to the nineteenth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, 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 (AT) gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This months topic comes to us from @evepress, who he asks: The CSM: CCP’s Meta Game? The CSM, an EVE players voice to CCP. Right? In the grand scheme of things yes, the players bring up issues and the CSM presents them to CCP. But in its current iteration the CSM was supposed to be given small authority to assign CCP assets to projects that the CSM thought needed work on. As it has come out, this was not the case. So fellow bloggers, is the CSM worth it, has the CSM improved the game in any way, or is it just a well thought out scam by CCP to give us players a false sense of input in the game? What’s your take?

IC————————-

Scotty sat with Mike in the cafe and looked out on the hangers. Occasionally the comm would chime as some fool in a hurry would ask for ships sw3itches 20 seconds after their last ship switch and Scotty would yawn and tell them to slow down and take their time. Then the conversation would continue. “So you don’t think it is some huge stunt?”

‘Well, no.” Mike stretched his neck to see is he could get the waitresses attention and another round of coffee brought over. “The way I see it, as soon as they started the CSM they kinda put their rep on the line. The whining and complaining I see is the same sort you are handling right now. When someone wants change they want it right the hell now. As soon as they come up with a new idea they start to wonder why everyone else has not realized that this is the next thing that must be done and made the requisite changes. You have people who would bounce from ship to ship every 3 seconds if you let them. We have people who are the same way about ideas.”

“Well, there are ideas and then there are things that need to be done or should be done.”

Mike nodded. “I know and I do think that the ball does get dropped or laid aside in favor of some other new toy, every now and again. That is why the CSM is in place. To pick up the dropped balls and try to get them back in play. It is no secret that I am a big fan of the CSM and it would be damn hypocritical of me to slag them just because it was the current consensus.”

Scotty nodded and smiled. ‘So you think everything is fine?”

“Hell, no. I think we have a good CSM council and they are trying harder to be more effective and running into the bane of organizations everywhere.”

“Idiots in Charge?”

“No” Mike laughed. “Inertia and momentum. It is easy for the passenger to yell ‘turn here’ but a lot harder for the driver to comply if he is flying a fully loaded carrier. All organizations have this sort of inertia that makes sudden change damn near impossible. The bigger the organization, the slower it is to react to change, whether it is needed or not.”

Scotty muttered something about ” . . . . agile”

“Elephants can claim to be the most agile elephant in the herd, but they still are not going to be racing up the tree faster than a monkey. CCP is an elephant and it wants to be the biggest in the herd. It can trumpet agile all it wants but at the end of the day it has to plan each step out before it brings down its feet. CSM is trying to be the mahout on top of the elephant but once it is up to speed there are NO sudden turns. Right now the question running on the comms is whether the mahout should give up or whether the elephant may throw the rider completely. I think neither is going to happen.” He took a sip of his coffee. “It is not an even partnership. Never has been, never will be. CSM rides at the permission of the CCP but it is along for the ride and they share a common goal. Both want a better way to go. Five times has the CSM been elected and I don’t think we have the understanding of cooperation between rider and mount, yet. May not happen for a while.” Mike grinned “Maybe when I get elected.”

Laughter answered him. “Going to run again?”

“Try and stop me”

****************************************************

No, I don’t think it is a publicity stunt
No I don’t think the members are in it for the ‘free trip’
No, it is not perfect and probably never will be
Yes, it is getting better
Yes, we did well in the elections choosing good people (I’m looking at YOU Mynxee)

m

Other things said . . . .

1. Growing Pains | CrazyKinux’s Musing
2. CSM: Hoax or Serious Business? « Lost in New Eden
3. CSM-Power to the people or puppets of CCP « A whole lot of Yarrrr!!!
4. Gaming the CSM | A Mule in EvE
5. A Taste Of Democracy | StarFleet Comms
6. CSM: Player Power or Paper Tiger? | I Am Keith Neilson
7. Governance Thrash Redux? « The Ralpha Dogs
8. CCP Doesn’t Care: Blog Banter 19 « OMG! You’re a Chick?!
and a whole buncha others, cross link or go to kinux to see a more complete list

Mike sighed and watched as the work crews repaired the damage to his entry and another crew ’swept’ the area for bugs. “Highest tech, assume, guys.”

“Hard to be sure, sir. Every time we make a finder they make a different hider.” One of the techs said. “But you ordered the subscription package so we will be keeping a steady sweep and upgrade, for now the jammers should keep you fairly secure. Use land line comms through our portal and we will make sure nothing is piggybacked.”

Mike nodded. “Thanks guys. And the upload from my monitors?”

“Backed up. She did disable the outer set. How did you know she would be doing that?”

“I assume that my shields will be hit. Basic armor tanking philosophy is let them shoot the shields, but keep the plates strong. She knows, if she has done her research that I fly shield ships, so I switched it up. If you need me I will be down in the bays.”

“Aye, sir.”

*************

Mike found Scotty on the hanger floor supervising the loading of a freighter. “Heyas.” He handed across a coffee and sipped another of his own.

“Haven’t seen you for a while. Thought you ‘guest’ might have eaten you.”

“Was a close thing. You get a good look at her?” Mike grinned.

“And then some.” Scotty frowned. “A few of the boys were looking a bit . . . concerned.”

“Pass the word, they don’t need to be, but she is going to be wanting to make me look bad. Maybe try to flush me out of this system entirely.”

Scotty rolled his eyes. “Oh to have your problems. You follow the CSM summit?”

Mike grimaced. ‘Speaking of flushing, eh? Yeah, I read both Ankh’s and Mynxees reports. Going to be interesting to see the spin the main report will have.”

“You think they will spin it?”

“I think they have to. The CSM candidates pushed hard for some acknowledgment and I think they got some of it. But there is still a long way to go. They are asking that the powers that be become more responsible for things in the past. That is a lot to ask for as most decisions in the past have been like missiles. ‘Fire and forget’. My favorite part is that rather than demand changes to some things they are asking for metrics, instead. Especially focusing on lowsec.”

“You were part of one of Mynxees discussion groups for that, weren’t you?”

“Yup.” Mike chuckled. “Between her and Ankh I think CCP might be regretting giving women the vote. Those two may not agree but they don’t back down, either. Nothing more dangerous than a stubborn and well-spoken representative.”

Scotty looked at Mike for a moment and shook his head. “I still do not understand how you manage to make even the people you oppose friendly. Nor how you can admire them at the same time you fight them in an election.”

Mike laughed. “Maybe it’s the coffee. I don’t know the details of the Summit. When that gets published maybe we can grab a bite and go over it.”

“Sounds like a plan”

*************************************************************

What the CSM may have got from the summit. (Quoted form Mynxees blog)

• Produce an Itemized List of CSM Submitted Items in Backlog
• Identify Tool/Process Change to Tag CSM Items in Backlog
• Publish a Dev Blog on Excellence
• Publish a Dev Blog on the Tyrannis Snafu: Numbers, Impact, Causes, Etc.
• Report to CSM on Percentages of PI Participation in Null, Low, and High Sec
• Report to CSM on Low Sec Demographic Data
• Publish a Low Sec Statistics Dev Blog (will satisfy previous bullet)
• Publish a Dev Blog on MMO Scaling Issues
• Report to CSM on Accessibility Alternatives to Removed Widescreen
• Request High Priority for Corporate Management UI Fixes from Internal Decision Makers (Again); Report Outcome to CSM
• Provide CSM with Time Estimates for List of Balance Issues We Will Provide

We did a good job in the last election and I want to thank the CSM as a whole for their efforts so far, this term.

m

The small planetary shuttle was almost empty on the trip to the surface. As was the case in most systems, there was always more going off the planets than back to them. Mike smiled and leaned back and closed his eyes but Dee was a bit nervous and kept bringing him back to the moment with questions about the safety of the trip and why they were doing it in the first place.

“I told you, I want to thank a pilot for the courtesies she has shown me and offered to treat her to dinner. I decided I would do the cooking myself.”

Dee looked at him with a quiet and reserved expression, but he plowed on.

“I also pointed out that this is just dinner. I have no romantic or even physical agenda aside from eating with her.” He paused. “I like cookin, it be my relax time. To do it right takes a mix of art and exactness. There no be a lot o that sort o ting for me round here. When I fly I have the shoot and bang but it lacks the art.”

Once again Dee noticed that when he thought about food Mike’s accent started to slip in, stronger the more he gave thought to it. “I know, but if she is as dangerous as you say, as people have been telling you then why are you cooking her dinner?”

“I offered and I like to keep my word.” Mike shrugged. The shuttle started to rattle and lurch side to side. “Looks like we are hitting the atmosphere. Best we buckle up.” Putting words to action he pulled the harness down and across his body then helped Dee with hers as she fumbled with the straps.

“I hate planet-fall.” she whispered, more to herself than to him. “I was born on a station and have lived on one all my life. The sky . . . scares me. I like a roof over my head.”

“I know, cherie, but I won’t be long. Just visiting a few friends and getting some supplies.” Mike Assured her, taking one of her hands in his.

“That is the point, why can’t you buy supplies up on the station? You could even make some sort of special order.” The shuttle lurched again and she squeaked and clutched his hand tightly.

Mike smiled thinly, hoping his fingers were not broken. “I checked out how fresh is fresh on the station. If I buy it right on the hour that it arrives it is about three days old. Now I know it has been kept cold and as well as they can but three days is three days. If I am gonna be cookin ma best, I needs betta than three day old fish. An the shrimp. Well tree day ole shrimp not be good for even tourist gumbo. So iffen ah wants the fresh ah goota be fetchin in or making ma own contacts. An dat sorta ting ya does in person, not on da comms.”

“Why?” Dee worked on the comms everyday and was almost more comfortable with them than in person.

“Well, take the CSM for instance.” Mike said looking out the view-port at the high altitude clouds scudding past. “They do all their work on comms and it shows sometimes. Their second meeting was a couple of weeks ago and a lot of it was spent discussing protocols and methods. They were trying to decide how to share out 48 different ideas and issues that had been passed down to them from the last CSM council and deal with them given the short time-line they are facing.”

“These are things already discussed and decided?” Her grip on his hand had relaxed a bit, now that she was focusing on something.

‘Yes, so they do not need to be redebated. That being said, some of the people who were not part of the decision making process want to have a chance to prioritize and work on those issues as well. It is just making the issue go through another set of hands and making it ‘three day old fish’. Ankhesentapemkah made a good argument for trying to retask some issues that have been set to the side before to make sure that they are given better consideration this time. When told that Ankh replied

so they need more kicking in the nuts

Well, when I read that I nearly lost it. I am betting that the people they are going to be taking their issues to may be a bit . . . nervous.”

Dee giggled and relaxed a bit more.

“So they then started discussing protocols for communicating. Seems every CSM has this discussion and every time they come back to the same conclusion. Stick with what you know works.”

“Like you and fresh fish?”

“Exactly.

This is a proposal to ask CCP to evaluate their attitude towards Eve development and truly commit to developing excellent features instead of half-finished ones.

as Dierdra Vaal said. Or to put it in my own terms, ‘make sure the cookin be done afore you be puttin it on the table to eat’.” Mike grinned and leaned back.

“Didn’t you campaign on that platform?”

“Ayup. But so did some other folks, they just campaigned better. I hope this one makes it through because it is important.”

Dee nodded and sneaked a peek out of the window. A coastline was sweping closer and she could see a city in a small cove. “That where we are going?”

“I hope so, excellence is such a nice destination to consider. It’s why I keep coming back to you.”

Dee punched him in the arm, lightly as the shuttle made the final approach and they prepared to go shopping.

******************************************

Lessons
Link to issues passed forth from the CSM4

I know that there are new and better ways to share info but I can see the CSM 21 still arguing about this and still using the same tech and methods CSM1 did. We grow comfortable in our means of communications and protocols. If you doubt this, look at almost any legeslative assembly and see the robes, panache and people carrying medieval weapons.

m

Mike closed the channel and grinned up at the ceiling of the cafe. Another Taranis Blueprint was ready for pickup! He waved to the waitress for another refill as he opened the minutes of the meeting of the first meeting of the CSM and started reading. As usual, the first meeting was more about formalities and the selection of the officers than it was about any true issues. But trust the new crew to make even that interesting.

The roster of people who showed up for this meeting was impressive. No less than three CCP representatives were in attendence as well as several former members of the CSM including ElvenLord , Alekseyev Karrde , Mrs Trzzbk , and Z0D. Once againm Mike wished that members of the press were allowed to be there live but he settled for reading the raw and summary logs. He skimmed the summary to confirm what he already suspected. Teadaze was, once again, the secretary. Mike blessed the CSM for starting out on the right foot. Ankhesentapemkah had also run for the position but was defeated soundly.

Mynxee was confirmed as the Chair and Dierdra Vaal was elected Vice Chair. The Vice Secretary was decided to be Trebor Daehdoow. Mike frowned at some of the sideplay and political maneuvering that seemed to be polarizing the council early on. He was glad to see that Mynxee was going to be an active leader when she stepped up to make this statement.

I know there is a lot of anti-ankh sentiment. I disagree with a lot of your positions on things myself. However, I expect every single person on this CSM to give your proposals and comments due consideration, and act with respect. I’m not tolerating any trolling or other playground crap. We can work together as adults.

This was the sort of leadership that would allow for individual positions without rancor and politics muddying the waters. Maybe.

Mike sighed and wondered how he would have acted, were he there and decided that someday he might find out, but not this time. He set the minutes aside to look to the next task before him, sketching out the industrial complex for a barren world. It was one of the planets the professor had set him as a protected zone but Mike would be damned if he was not going to make it pay. His Logistics links bracketed the archeological site without impinging on the ruins and yet he stiull had a decent complex producing machine parts. He sat back and priced out the complex and the time it would take to set this up and then looked into his hanged for an appropriate construction vessel. “Clean Up in Aisle 7″ was his salvage cruiser and it had enough of a hold to set down the main construction teams and habitats.

A touch opened comms and he was in contact with the new mining foreman he had already contracted. “I am sending down the design. I know it is a bit more stretched than normal but I have my own reasons for this. Over-all what do you think?”

There was a pause while the forman looked offscreen at his own copy then back at the pickup. “Ya, its sloppier than a 50 isk hoore but it’ll do the job I spose. Ya wants us loadin now, I spose?”

“Put the call out, contact me when your people are ready. We’ll lift when things are set.”

“Most bosses set the schedule, not ask when we’s ready.”

“I am not most bosses. I prefer your folks ready and willing, not grumbling about me being a pissant before they even hit dirt. Let them get to know me, THEN they can call me a pissant.” Mike grinned.

“I spose. We’ll a call ya in a bit then.” The comm shut off suddenly.

Mike sipped his coffee and smiled. After all the things he had shot, blown up, destroyed . . . it was nice to be making, designing.

*****************************

CSM minutes are found here

The land rush is on and I have seen planets dotted with poorly set command centers already. Damn it folks spend a few minutes here and get a clue as to what you are doing before you just through a few million isk out the airlock

m

Kieth Nelson is interviewing candidates for the CSM. As of a few minutes ago less than a third have responded. Tells you something, i suppose, though not what.

Mine:

So what does Mike have to say for himself?

Do you have a website/blog, if yes what is its address? If not, where can people go to find out what you stand for?

Yup, Sorted so you see things I did that are CSM related.

How long have you been playing?

Since September of 2008, so about a year and a half, give or take.

What drew you EVE in the first place?

The idea that anything could happen. Stories like the great assassination the Guiding Hand Social Club did. Or that people did not have to progress through the game in the same manner. In CCP’s terms . . . the sandbox

What are your main activities in EVE, what do you spend most of your in game time doing?

Depends on how I apply the term ‘in Eve’ I am primarily a mission runner, But I explore, I mine, I will try bout ship fittings, I have been taking classes with OUCH for pvp and nullsec operations. I spend a LOT of t6ime talking with other players, whether it is in the public channel of our own corp (Smegineers) or the Eve online bloggers channel.

What is the thing that you like most about EVE?

Hands down, the people. If I don’t know about something, there is always someone I can ask. People who I thought would be so distant from the ‘new guy’ that I still feel like are willing to chat.

What is the thing you hate most about EVE?

I think hate is too strong a word. If I hated things about the game then I wouldn’t still be playing it and I absolutely would not be volunteering to be a member of the CSM and get even deeper into it. But if I had to pick the least likable thing about the game is that it still feels , in places, like we are playing the Beta of a so much better game. Something gets fixed, something else breaks, balance is constantly changing, lag issues, exploits, all feels like we are so close to being the BEST and instead we are relegated to being a niche game. THAT is why I am running for CSM, I don’t want to play the beta . . . I want to see this game in all of its fully realized glory and I am willing to work to make that happen.

Do you participate the EVE blogging community and the associated twitter ‘tweetfleet’?

Blogging absolutely. I follow tweetfleet on and off and have tweeted a few times but I do it from an ipod touch, not phone so I am not as technologically connected as others. My Blog is a mix of fiction, lessons embedded in the fiction, and opinion pieces when the mood strikes me.

What is your opinion of the above?

This is part of what makes Eve a special game. As I said, the thing I love is the people and the metagame and the chats and communications that go on beyond the boundaries of the server are part of that. People like Crazy Kinux and his blog banters, contests, and the Blog Pack; Keith Neilson and his Blog Roll, which I use; Roc and Pyjama Sam and the Capsuleer. You pick a career or philosophical orientation and you will probably find someone blogging that will speak to what you think, and three others who want to make fun of you.

What is your position on the current ‘No Local’ exploit and what would you recommend CCP do about it, and to those that have used it?

When an exploit is found AND proven there should be a lovely little blanket warning of ‘do it and die’. If it was done using coding and that can be proved then the EULA has already been violated and the exploiters have not a leg to stand on, off with their heads. But IF CCP fails to act then the Pandemic Folks are right in thinking that being ignored is tacit permission. I spent a fair amount of time reading that threadnaught and in the end I concluded that I hate reading threadnaughts. While I saw some editing by GM/Devs I did not see a lot of proactive response when I last dived into that particular swamp.

What would you most like to see changed about hi-sec, lo-sec and null-sec space?

I’d like to see more reason to go other places, Markets that only sell specific things in areas that make relevant sense. Criminal connections should not be sold in hisec. I(f there was a partitioning of availability then we would see even more need fro traders to ply the dangerous skies, more need for pirates to make said skies dangerous.

Do you think the Sovereignty changes in Dominion were a good or bad thing, and did they achieve the aims that CCP set out for them?

Good thing, but not enough. I was under the impression that this was to make POS’s less of a chore but it still sounds like the chores are there, just another layer added to them. The lag issue was the real deal breaker for this and I know a lot of folks are almost waxing nostalgic for the good old days before Dominion. But to make activity on low and null, damn right it succeeded on that front. Take a walk into Providence.

What affect, if any, do you see the current lag situation having on the ability of the 0.0 alliances to prosecute their wars?

It is causing a shift in tactics and has resulted in some bloodbaths that might not have happened. But Eve Players know how to adapt to new situations and wars still progress, just the strategic and tactical rules of battle have changed. Those who have adapted the fastest have won more battles.

How would you encourage a shift from big fleet battles to small gang warfare, in order to combat lag, and also to allow more players to play a more meaningful role in 0.0 warfare?

To a certain extent the lag issues already do that. But I would like to know why we would feel obligated to dictate how people want to wage the war. Small gang and huge fleets both have a place in this game. It is a mark of pride that you could, someday, be part of a gigantic battle that might change the political face of Eve itself. Or you might have just as much fun flying out and podding a few folks with four or five friends. I don’t want to FORCE shifts, I want to allow people to play their game, their way.

What makes you different from those that went before you and how do plan on maintaining some for of continuity?

I have been closely following the 4th CSM, writing articles on how they went for my own blog and for the Eve Tribune. So I hope to learn from what has and hasn’t worked. I am the best opportunity for a duality of new blood that does NOT need a training time to get up to speed on proceedings and issues that have been covered in the past. That is one of the reasons that the CSM term has been extended, so that we are not reinventing the wheel every six months.

How do you intend to publicise and promote the work of the CSM?

I already do, in blog and Tribune articles. I would push for an even more transparency, if at all possible but I must admit that I have nothing but admiration for the new levels of disclosure that came out of the 4th CSM.

What would you consider your top priority as a CSM member?

The same thing that probably all CSM’s should say. Represent the players issues in a calm and reasonable way to, with the support of CCP, make this a better game for all of us.

Crazy Kinux recently posed the question of how to encourage more female gamers to play eve as part of his monthly Blog Banter. What do you feel EVE is missing that would encourage more women gamers to play, or is it simply a case of changing the marketing and not the game?

I wrote on that issue and I do think that the game is NOT in need of change but just needs to present itself better. While Incarna will be the new shiny and might draw MANY players (male and female) to the game it is nto be panacea that will equalize the genders.

If you could only pick one issue currently on the first page of the Jita Assembly hall forums, which one would it be and why?

Currently the forums are full of ‘vote for me posts and I had to dive a few pages in to find ANYTHING that even resembled an issue. When I got deep enough I think the one current issue is the nerf of the deepsafes. While I agree that some of the safes were ridiculously deep (so deep they would leave the galaxy) I think they dragged the leash a bit too tightly.

Purely hypothetical, and only because its a question that was put forward by a lot of people when I asked the tweetfleet what they would ask each of the candidates; how much do you think a vote in these elections is worth (in ISK or otherwise)?

*chuckles* Show me a way to prove that a vote bought would stay bought and we can discuss it. *shrug* I want people to vote for me because I strike a chord with how they think. I want people to vote for me because I am the right person for the job, NOT because I promised them virtual currency. Even if CCP formed a votes sales point I would not take part in it and would probably retire from this serious internet spaceships politics. This is an election. Not a popularity contest, not a waving of E-Peens, it is an election. You (the reader) are supposed to be finding the person or people who you think will do the best job making the game better. People who will show up for the meetings, vote in the fashion that you might vote, be YOUR VOICE when talking to CCP.

This is what it is supposed to be about . . .

Is there anything else you would like to say to prospective voters?

This is what I am: A guy who likes the game and wants to help make it better. I wrote the Tribune articles and my blog reports on the CSM meetings to help make the issues more visible and make the CSM a more commonly known thing. It is scary how many of you have no idea what CSM stands for or what they do. Read, ask yourself what you would want done if you could make the changes yourself. If I sound like the person that might do those things in YOUR NAME then vote for me, come the days of the election. If someone else sounds closer to your way of thinking by all means, vote for me anyways.

A lot of folks are going to a lot of effort for this to be more than an advertising point for CCP. Be a part of it. Vote . . . and vote for me

If you came here looking for my statement of intent in regards to the CSM this is the post to read. If you have questions then post them here and I will answer them right quick.

To reiterate what I said on the candidates page. I don’t want to make sweeping changes nor am I pushing for the new shiny things (not that I mind them). I would like to see the things that we already have polished to a higher shine or made to work for us rather than against us. I have old eyes and I truly wish I could set the UI to accomodate me more than an A+ that makes it slightly bigger but, somehow, no more legible. So UI tweeks to allow me to make the ships fly and control more in the fashion I need/want.

What I don’t want is to force my design for a UI down your throat or anyone elses. My needs are different than yours . . . so my UI should be mine and your UI should suit you.

Some of the things I asked for in the last election are being worked on and some have even come to pass (or will by mid May). If you haven’t already you should send a word of thanks to the former CSM members for their hard work, but now lets let some new blood in, me. I have said before the CSM would best be served by a mix of experience and new blood to keep things active. Funny things is that I followed the last CSM closely, writing articles on the meetings for the Tribune and here in this blog. If you want to see some of that then click CSM on the search to the right and see what I thought of previous sessions.

As for who I am, beyond the pixels. I am a high school teacher of Math and Sciences. I have taught every grade except grade 3, kindergarden through college. I have sat through more meetings than I care to think of, brainstormed lessons, plans, and ideas with the best of them. I have handled difficult children and more difficult parents. I know how to wait my turn and I know how to make myself heard when the occassion demands it. if you elect me to be your representative then you KNOW you will have someone who can make the point and see the good and the bad of any proposal and weigh the merits fairly.

Within the pixels I have one character who is a mission runner, another who is training lowsec and nullsec with OUCH. I have lost enough ships to protect an outpost and I have been on pos shoots, lived and died in small gang battles, and I have chased and been chased, scouted and been the tackler, mined till my face gently came to rest on the keyboard. I have fallen asleep and awoken in a pod. I play for a few minutes or for hours on end. I have never been rich and have often been poor. If you read more of this blog you will know that I like to dream a story within this game and I play accordingly.

I’d like to think I am an average player but there may not BE such a beast. Worse, this mythical average player seldom votes. Percentage wise, hardly anyone votes. Those who do are ‘old players’ with tons of skill points, isk, experience. I’m not one of the old guard. Those people have allies and alliances and already know who they are voting for. I don’t blame them. But I am calling on you, the folks who are just starting out, you the people who don’t know the ‘distant gods’ of the game and just want things to be better, even if you are not quite sure what better is, yet.

I cannot end this without this one plea, from the heart. Vote. If you think I sound reasonable, then vote for me. But if I don’t sound like somoene you want representing you then look at the other 52 candidates in the deck. We have kings and queens, jokers and jacks. One of the MUST be the right match for you to vote for. This is a new era in the CSM process and I’d like to see it break the records for highest turn out in the polls. I think you should vote for me (but then I will admit to bias in this regard)and I ask you remember me, come election week.

m

CK asked

What could CCP Games do to attract and maintain a higher percentage of women to the game. Will Incarna do the trick? Can anything else be done in the mean time? Can we the players do our part to share the game we love with our counterparts, with our sisters or daughters, with the Ladies in our lives? What could be added to the game to make it more attractive to them? Should anything be changed? Is the game at fault, or its player base to blame?

Genetically, we are different. Men are XY and women XX. So what? Is there some intrinsic quality . . . an X-Factor that makes women less prone to play Eve?

Hell no.

Should Eve reinvent itself changing basic gameplay in hopes of somehow capturing the elusive female of the species?

Again, Hell no.

Well then, why in heavens name am I even writing this? Packaging. I started looking into how Eve is presented, the new player experience and the press it gets. Sometimes we are so immersed in the game that we cannot see the forest because all the damn trees are in the way. I encourage you to step back and look for yourself. From the Eve homepage, where anyone might go if they were curious about the game. . .

EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN

* Are you that rogue captain that enjoys the thrill of sneaking through stretches of enemy territory?
* Do you enjoy the discovery of new worlds?
* Are you in search of an MMO so vast that there will always be someplace new to explore?
* 7,000 star systems – NPC and Player controlled regions – hidden worm-hole space waiting to be explored.

BUILD YOUR EMPIRE

* Are you a person who knows how to close a deal? Does competing in a marketplace with 2,000 transactions a minute pique your interest?
* Are you looking for a game where one can build a legacy as a financial market leader, CEO of a company or even just the main guy to go to for the best arms deals in New Eden?
* Huge universe wide player driven market-place – intense research and production system – constantly evolving economy.

DOMINATE YOUR ENEMIES

* What is your definition of epic combat? Is is fleets of hundreds clashing in battle? Is it war for control of entire constellations?
* Does high risk PvP get your blood racing? 1000+ ship fleet battles – hundreds of ship types – thousands of ship module options
* In a shingle-shard universe, all players are part of one community. Your actions, be they those of a savior or scourge, impact not just a small group or independent shard, but the universe itself.

Did you see it? Was what you found in the game mentioned up there? I can tell that I found a lot more than that in Eve.

Did they mention the rich social fabric? The building of corps, alliances, of the art of the deal and the misdeal? Did they mention the metagame, the fact that we were ranked as the best player community of 2009 by 10 ton hammer? Did PvE even get a nod?

nope

Incarna might make a difference but not for the reasons some folks have said. Not because girls like to play dress up. It may make a difference because CCP will get a chance to play dressup. To change how they show this game to the world and how we will be seen and judged. I don’t want radical changes to the game, I have said that in CSM campaigning and I am still saying it. I am one to look at the details, like the packaging.

Bottom line. I have met some women who play Eve, most are better players than me (hi Mynxee, Shae, Kry). Each plays for different reasons and stayed because they liked the game. There is no X-Factor. But if you hang out subtle signs of ‘boyz club’ then you shouldn’t be surprised when the girls ain’t about.

m

What better folks than I had to say

Cataclysmic Variable
Eveoganda
Ombeve
0.5 or higher
Where the frack is my ship
Flashfresh

if you go to CKs blog, linked at the top you will see there are a hell of a lot more links . . . and damn it Shae, yours is absolutely an entry.

m

He was almost back to his ship when he remembered that his comm was still off. A quick tap brought it to screaming life. It jangled and beeped and chirped and made sounds he had not even an onomatopoeiadic word for. Messages, alerts, missed contacts, reminders all vied for his attention. He stopped and opened the ‘urgent’ tagged messages first. Some were, some weren’t. Two absolutely were. One was a reminder from the CSM election board inquiring if he would be running again. He sighed, “I am a stubborn fool.” and replied that he would and tagged the appropriate documents to initate the process.

The second was more of a surprise, it was from Ms Dom and she was asking if they could meet, here in the station. This station. He tapped the details button and saw that the message had been sent from this system. “A bit far off of her beat” He mused as he started to reply to the message.

“Don’t bother, I am right here.”

Mike jumped and spun, stumbling to one side. “Sweet mother, you could kill a man, sneaking up like that.”

Ms Dom smiled wickedly. “I have.” Then a frown flashed across her face. “Is there someplace we can talk? I fel like we are being watched, here.”

Mike looked about slowly and grinned. “We are, and I cannot invite you into my ship, because of that.”

She followed his gaze and noted the hanger bay techs and several loading crews all seemed to be keeping an eye on Mike and herself. “You have a lot of folks watching out for you. I could not get anybody to tell me where you were and after I started asking I found this to be a very . . . unfriendly place.”

Mike chuckled softly. “It is not me that they are watching out for. And THAT is the reason we best not be giving them anything to gossip about. Improprieties at this point could get me very very dead.”

She looked at him askance. “So how do we talk?”

“In public, and carefully. The good news is that this is a friendly base to me and what we talk about will not easily go beyond this station. What is it you need to talk about?”

She tensed for a moment, disliking the public aspect, having been secretive for so long. “I need to discuss a ship and a possible job I need help with.”

“Is that all?” Mike looked about. “Hey, Ev. Mind if I use your station?”

“No problem mon, just no be downloading dem pictures again.” A dreadlocked supervisor yelled across the hanger from where he was overseeing a refit on a Drake.

Mike grinned and waved as he lead her to a very powerful workstation. Powewring it up he looked to her and asked. ‘What ship?”

Instead of answering she slotted a chip into the reader and the image grew before them. “I am told it is called a Scorpion.”

“No, Free, it is actually called a Navy Issue Scorpion.” Mike spoke softly as he looked at the ship rotating before him. “Rumor has it they are all going in for a major refit soon. Right now it is ugly enough to be almost pretty.”

“Ah yes, they did have Navy designation on it, but I merely assumed that was because of the former owners. The question I want answered is . . .can you fly it?”

Mike tapped a few controls and a green light lit above the ship. “Yes, though I am very unlikely to ever get the chance, those things are way out of my league.”

“Perhaps not. I heard you turned down a very high profile mission with the Amarr, recently. Why?”

“I have enough funding to be choosy about what I do and recapturing people to return them to slavery has never been . . .wait. How did YOU hear about that?”

She leaned back and looked him in the eye. “Whether you like it or not, you have associated yourself with us, even if you don’t know who we are. I do not have many associates that I cannot keep an eye on the few still around.”

“Friend.” Mike corrected. “Not ‘associate’.”

Her face went slack for a moment. “I have even fewer of those. Regardless, the slave you refused to recapture managed to elude the rest of the chase and information he was carrying lead us to this ship. It is to be used as a bribe for some high level Caldari corporations to run illegal slaving mining operations and bypass the union oversight. We want to stop the bribe and blacken their eye in a very public way.”

Mike looked up at the image of the Scorpion and sighed. “So you want me to steal you a ship?”

“Yes but that is just the first phase of the operation. I am still trying to find a pilot for the second part. We will need someone who can fly a fast small vessel and is willing to take a risk.”

Mike grinned. “Leave that part to me . . . now what is the scheme you have?”

They spent the next hour talking, Mike called Ev over for the later part of ther conversation and made a few calls, leaving a message for Mar. At one point Free leaned over to point out something on the comm and her hair parted to show a red hourglass tattooed on the back of her neck. Mike started laughing and couldn’t stop for a good five minutes. In time her idea grew and was modified until all agreed it was stupid, dangerous, and probably the only chance they would have.

*******************************

Lessons

I don’t know about you but I wish some missions allowed for more imagination, a chance to show tactical decisions.
Please, do not tell me pvp is where that skill comes out to play as a lot of what I see is ‘who has the bigger blob’ or ‘lags the least’.
This is why i watch the Alliance tournaments. Even if I cannot go in them I apprciate the different level of game play when all have the same starting rules and points.

Kinda takes me back to Warhammer tabletop . . . but I digress.

and yes, I have tossed my hat into the ring for ther CSM.

There are going to be a LOT of good candidates out there. I recommend that you read the platforms when they are published and dammit ASK QUESTIONS.

m

”

Freebooter requested that we of the new blog pack introduce ourselves. Better later than never, eh?

I am Mike, IRL and in this blog, sometimes.

I prefer to write fiction, even when I am writing to cover things like the CSM I still couch it in rp. Live with it.

I have a few alts and when I write for them I tag posts appropriately . . . Jiorj and Kaye. Each has their own direction and purpose. Read back a bit if you waqnt to know what is going on.

Other than that I use the fiction to comment on the game aspects that strike me. The people I have met. I try to end a LOT of my posts with ‘Lessons’. These are pieces of advice that I think might be valuable to folks or a moral to the story just told. I LOVE comments . . . good bad or indifferent. I understand that when we are on the iphone/pod and in capsuleer itr is a lot tougher to make said comments. /me shrugs.

If you are in game I am always hanging about on a few channels playing chat-whack-a-mole. Try smegs pub, our corp open channel or drop me a direct tell. I think I have a 2 isk fee attached to block spammers so if you want to toss your 2 cents in . . . /me grins.

I try to keep up with a lot of reading, there are some bloody great writers around here. There is a reason that massively named us the best mmo community. If you don’t want to write a blog, then comment on the ones you like. Ask questions, read, learn.

Oh, I will probably run in the next CSM election . . . but then so will a lot of other really great people. Start thinking about it now. What do you want to see, where do you want the game to go?

Fly safe or dangerous, sleepy or awake . . . but fly you fools

m

Mike shoved the coffee to the side and spread the two comms before him, on one he scrolled the text while on the other he made notations. Dee watched him focus on the information in a way she sometimes he would focus on . . . other matters. He stayed that way for the next hour, pausing and thinking before making notes or muttering to hiomself over some point that was in the transcripts.

Finally she took a piece of pie from a waitress and brought it over to the table along with a fresh cup of coffee. “Good book?”

Mike grimaced and looked up from the comm. “Oh heyas, Dee, did you just get here?”

She bit back her immediate reply as she saw the bloodshot eyes. “When did you last sleep?”

“Um, yesterday? what time is it, no, the day before . . . . ” Mike shrugged and looked back at the comms. “I promised myself I would get through this and dammit, I will. Kry has given me some new responsibilities in the corp and I am still not sure what they are, just . . . ” His sentences trailed off like he lost the trains of thought in mid-word

She looked down at the pilot and smiled. He could be so friustrating and she knew she could try to force him to stop and finish when he was more alert but it was easier to help him finish the job then know that he would rest properly. “Fine, so tell me about the summit.”

“Well, from what I can see, it went better than it might have. Even the Goons worked.”

“They had to, seeing as they are seeing their world crumble around them.”

“Nah, ‘Goonwaffles with syrup’ will pick right up where the Goonswarm left off. There are few constants in this universe but idiocy and griefers are two very solid ones. But that is beside the point. They did get things done and that is what is important. My only regret in regards to the goons is that Helen did not manage to go.”

“So what did they decidee on, at this summit.”

Mike started to tick things off on his fingers as he listed the accomplishments of the CSM summit. “Now remember, not all of this is going to go through, but these are the things that were breought before the higher powers, the movers and shakers of New Eden. The first thing is that they may make the CSM term a full year with TWO trips to the summit. I think this would be good for continuity but bad in another way. It waoud better if they alternated the elections so there was an election every six months with a 1 year term. That way experience could be teamed with youthfull enthusiasm. There would be fresh blood at each meeting and some ‘old hands’. They also discussed the abolishment of term limits which might be a good or bad thing. I could see dynasties forming but then again, the continuity of a good team would be a very sad thing to see eliminated on the basis of ‘your time is up’”

“So you are for it or against it?”

“If they did the alternation, I think I would fall on the ‘for’ side, and I agree that term limits are an artificial construct that the political nature of the universe would self correct. The next thing they discussed was security, basically it came down to design better locks on the one side compared to teach people to remember to USE said locks in a proper manner on the other. There is not a perfect lock that a thief can’t get past if the owner is careless. Then they discussed the way problems at the stellar level are addressed and asked that fewer canned replies are used and research is done before a proble is treated as trivial. A higher profile of the people in power was requested on the comms and in mail contacts. THAT I am not so sure about because I have seen many a logical discussion degenerate into name calling and chanting. Mob mentality on the comms is common.”

“A mob has the IQ of the average of the members divided by the number of people in the mob.” Dee said.

“Heh, you are meaner than I am, I was just going to say they sink to the lowest common denominator. But it all comes down to expectations. If something is even mentioned then there are those who take it as a died in the wool promise and start howling if it is not delivered the next day. They discussed the shockwave events that have been causing massive fleet losses as ships fail to recalibrate coming outr of warp, but no answer was found at this meeting. Then they spent some time discussing the new plans for the tourneys to be held . . . ”

“Ever thought of going into one?” Dee asked curiously.

“The same way every young lad dreams of being a sports hero. Yeah. But I think it very very unlikely a corp or alliance such as ours would ever manage to field a team. It was interesting to hear the concepts batted about, though. How points will be tallied, teams chose, that sort of thing. Then came some issues on the background of the economic system which was mercifully brief and even then, over my head. Once they got to the next part . . . ” Mike whistled. “They want to make corp and alliance memberships open information.”

“Open? How is that a bad thing?”

“It means that all of the members of a corp will be trackable during a war and easier to hunt. Currently some effort or espionage is needed to get the complete membership list, this will make things far far easier for extortion attempts to be made in hisec. There is freedom of information to consider but I agree with the CSM that this might be going too far. The sad thing is that if they even try it all of the cats will be out of the bag and very hard to stuff back in again. The they discussed nullsec and asked that more mapping expedition s be sent out to try to find new routes into that territory.”

“Why?

“Right now the known paths are ‘chokepoints’ and often ‘camped’. It is too easy for a group to hold a vast amount of nullsec at the cost of effort in only a few systems. More maps and connections might ease that. As to why we want to go into nullsec there is talk of more research division moving their offices down there or maybe the planets in that regiuon (with the relaxed labour laws) will be more productive than their hisec cousins. Then they got onto warfare that is common to the low and nullsec space and discussed things like redesign of stations to keep people from docking as soon as a battle was going against them or allowing a captain to see the surrounding space before undocking. Discussion of current weapon designs, such as the silliness of having the close range weapons mounted on slower vessels. Things for the engineers to look to.”

“You honestly find this interesting, don’t you.” She asked, playing with a strand of her hair.

“It all IS interesting Dee. This is how the world works and we are getting a ‘peek behind the curtains’. This is the sort of thing MORE people should be interested in, but they aren’t. They just complain how they wish things were better, fail to vote during elections . . . passive whiners.” Mike shrugged. “Someone has to care, not just during the election, but the rest of the time as well.”

“Someone like you.”

“And you, it is not just the pilots that are effected. Charity events, how time is allocated in the big research projects . . .decisions that were made there have bearing on how all the lives in New Eden progress. Just because you try to ignore it does not mean that the world will ‘go away’”

“I never said that.”

Mike sighed. “I know, you do care enough to put up with me rambling on about this and that, one of the reasons I love you I suppose. But the meetings then went on to discuss the ideas that the CSM itself was bringing to the table. Thinsg like Black ops ships and battle recorders . . . um, is something wrong?”

She was staring at him intently as he yawned and blinked at her. “No, no, continue. The sooner you finish the sooner you can c . . . go to bed.”

Mike nodded sleepily. Well from there the ideas were layed out on the” another yawn, “table and discussed. Bookmark improvements, insurance frauds, suicides . . . all were presented for consideration. In the end I think the most imp[ortant thing done was the growth.” He rubbed his eyes and blinked at Dee. “The CSM is coming into its own, they are starting to be treated like stakeholders in all of this, not just representatives of the whiny masses. For all our bickering, squabbling . . . ” another yawn, ” . . tching about this and that we are beginning to be heard. I got word they even broughtin the media in to witness this.”

“That is important?”

“Things done in the light last longer . . . are truer. That is why we talk of a black market, shady deals . . . when they shine a light on what is done . . . um, what?”

She was tugging on his arm, almost lifting him from the table. “You do not know when to shut up . . . come on, time for bed.”

“bed sounds nice, I could do with forty winks”

She lead him from the diner and down the walkway. The rest of the patrons watched grinning.

“Hey, isn’t the docking bay to the right?” The customer was idly cuffed on the back of the head by the waitress.

“Matter of fact, it is.”

*******************************************************

The writeup by the devs is up and available, I just went for a short summary.

with some opinion, of course.

from what I hear, PC GAMER was invited to send a reporter. That is an issue I am looking forward to.

m