Thoughts from an Accidental Minmatar Revolutionary

Welcome to the ninth installment of the EVE Blog Banter and its first contest, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

“Last month Ga’len asked us which game mechanic we would most like to see added to EVE. This month Keith “WebMandrill” Neilson proposes to reverse the question and ask what may be a controversial question: Which game mechanic would you most like to see removed completely from EVE and why?

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I was approached one day at a hole in the wall at CBD Corporation Storage in TEW by homely wench that offered to buy me a Gallente Brew of some sort.  Her interest in me was puzzling as I still wore my post-pod jumpsuit and really wasn’t in the mood for company.  I accepted the drink with a nod and mumbled a thanks.  I was still pissed at a near miss engagement I had with a Merlin a few systems away.

She was insistent on speaking with me.  She asked me my name.  We always had to watch for spies and being in an Amarr system made it even more important to do so.  I was gruff with her, but polite.  We may be freedom fighters to some, but in these systems we are terrorists to many and conversation is usually done in a dark corner away from prying ears.

I looked at her again.  She was Minmatar and attractive and I was in a station far from home.  Ahh, what the hell….

Following a few hours of conversation and more than a few drinks she got up the nerve to ask me what I was so pissed off about.

Aggression timer on gates!  I slammed my fist down on the table nearly spilling our drinks.

This has got to be the most insanely stupid thing in all of EVE (yes I know others will argue differently). There you are, in space by a gate, a War Target comes to the gate and yellow boxes you. You return the favour and as you’re alliance/corp has been decced by his or you decced them (distinction inconsequential) the need/want to keeeeel each other is mutual…. Or so you would think.

Reality is that your WT just baited you to agress so that that he (and/or his buddies) can jump through and not be followed by you for a short while giving them ample time to go run and hide in stations or jump to another gate. Sure he took some hits and you may have had him halfway through armor but he used you and you feel cheap. Yes, I’m stupid. I should have know he was going to do this, but I thought “this time” would be different … DOH!

We are at war with several entities at the moment and try as we might, they won’t engage in small numbers. They prefer safety in numbers despite the fact that some of them actually have skills to take us on. The Sir Robin affliction is so ingrained in to them by their alliance/corp that fleeing is just another tactic in war.  WTs should be treated differently when it comes to aggression in Empire space!

This Agression Timer just needs to go away and let us go about the business of war. We’ve paid CONCORD their bribe money and we should be allowed to go about the business of killing slavers without getting penalized by gate wardens that feel the need to protect the cowardly.

Turns out, she understood what I was talking about.   She was a transport pilot for a large corp moving equipment to and from the larger market hubs.  She’s used this little trick herself but can see where it would be detrimental to the war effort in my situation.

My outburst had attracted a little attention but as most people in the bar were scum I chose to ignore them.  She suggested we retire to some place more private where our conversations wouldn’t be listened to.

Life as a pod pilot’s not so bad at all.

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List of Participants:

1. Diary of a Space Jockey, Blog Banter: BE GONE!
2. EVE Newb, (EVE) Remove You
3. Miner With Fangs, Blog Banter – It’s the Scotch
4. The Eden Explorer, Blog Banter: The Map! The Map!
5. The Wandering Druid of Tranquility, “Beacons, beacons, beacons, beacons, beacons, mushroom, MUSHROOM!!!”
6. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah, Kill the Rats
7. Mercspector @ EVE, Scotty
8. EVE’s Weekend Warrior, EVE Blog Banter #9
9. A Merry Life and a Short One, Eve Blog Banter #9: Why Won’t You Die?
10. Into the unknown with gun and camera, Blog Banter – The Hokey Cokey
11. The Flightless Geek, EVE Blog Banter #9: Remove a Game Mechanic
12. Sweet Little Bad Girl, Blog Banter 9: Who is Nibbling at My House?
13. One Man and His Spaceship, Blog Banter 9: What could you do without?
14. Life in Low Sec, EVE Blog Banter #9: Stop Tarnishing My Halo
15. Cle Demaari: Citizen, Blog Banter #9: Training for all my men!
16. A Mule in EVE, He who giveth, also taketh away?
17. Dense Veldspar, Blog Banter 9
18. Morphisat’s Blog, Blog Banter #9 – Randomness Be Gone !
19. Facepalm’s Blog, EVE Blog Banter #9: What a new pilot could do without
20. Memoires of New Eden, You’re Fired
21. Kyle Langdon’s Journeys in EVE, EVE Blog Banter #9 Titans? What’s a Titan?
22. Achernar, The gates! The gates are down!
23. Speed Fairy, EVE Blog Banter #9: Down with Downtime!
24. I am Keith Neilson, EVE Blog Banter #9-F**K Da Police
25. Ripe Lacunae, The UI… Where do I begin… (Eve Blog Banter #9)
26. Clown Punchers, EvE Blogs: What game mechanic would you get rid of?
27. Estel Arador Corp Services, You’ve got mail
28. Epic Slant, Let Mom and Pop Play: EVE Blog Banter #9
29. Deaf Plasma’s EVE Musings, Blog Banter #9 – Removal of Anchoring Delay of POS modules
30. Podded Once Again, Blog Banter #9 – Do we really need to go AFK?
31. Postcards from EVE, 2009.07.02.00.29.06
32. Harbinger Zero, Blog Banter #9 – War Declarations & Sec Status
33. Warp Scrammed, Blog Banter 9 – Never Too Fast
34. Ecaf Ersa (EVE Mag), Can a Tractor Tractor a Can?
35. Thoughts from an Accidental Minmatar Revolutionary, EVE Blog Banter #9 – Aggression timers, WTs and Stargates
36. Mike Azariah, I don’t put much stock in it…
37. Rettic’s Log, Blog Banter: Overview Overload
38. A Sebiestor Scholar, [OOC] EVE Blog Banter #9: Slaves
39. Diary of a pod pilot, [OOC] EVE blog banter #9: Because of Falcon
40. Roc’s Ramblings, Blog Banter #9 – Taking Things Slow

Welcome to the eighth installment of the EVE Blog Banter , the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here . Check out otherEVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

Log entry: stardate…. <blip> *Damn Minmatar technology* Now where did I put that duct tape…..

Dreams last night where disturbing. Factional War had broken between the Minmatar tribes and the Amarr in the borderlands and the heroes of the republic were being kept from joining their brethren by a large conga line of CONCORD Battle Cruisers, Capitals and a strange looking (very phallic shaped) Titan. They had ships stationed at all gates coming from 0.0 space forbidding all access to the war front.

If I hadn’t been in my pod, I would probably be sweating. I mean, who has ever heard of anyone forbidding anyone from participating in action that directly affects their Tribal brethren. Slavery is wrong and all free citizens of New Eden should have the opportunity to act upon this direct act of aggression by the slavers. The Republic wouldn’t stand for it and neither would we.

It’s a bit fuzzy, as dreams sometimes are, but I seem to recall a CONCORD statement about allowing individual corporations but not alliances. But that can’t be right. Alliances such as Ushra’Khan and Electus Matari are on the forefront of the struggle. The battles would be epic. The Glory Great! The absolute Defeat of the enemy would be inevitable!

Our voices will be heard!

But it was just a dream ….  wasn’t it?

BLOOD FOR FREEDOM.

WE COME FOR OUR PEOPLE.

List of Participants:

Standing in the dark observation room of the Curse Watchtower a figure moved.

His eyes peering out into the vastness of space. The lines on his face a history of the revolutionary struggle and yet a reflection of serenity that comes from many lifetimes of understanding why it had to be done.

His mind wandered carelessly through mental images of his physical life wondering what / where his soul would take him. His tribe had taught him that once his physical shell was given back to space his soul would enter the great halls of the Elders. If chosen, the warrior would join the others, the heroes of the seven tribes, in the greatest place of them all “Valhall”.  At the head of the table will sit the Elders of the great tribes and they will sit in judgment of his actions in this world.

The scrolls described this place of many homes in the otherwold.  His mind went over some of the verses he still remembered from when he was a child:

Sökkvabekk is the fourth, | where cool waves flow,
And amid their murmur it stands;
There daily do the Elders| and Warriors drink
In gladness from cups of gold.

The fifth is Glathsheim, | and gold-bright there
Stands Valhall stretching wide;
And there do the Elders | each day choose
The men who have fallen in fight.

He was joining the Elders and was going to be judged by those that had gone before him. He had to wonder.  Was he worthy?  Had he done enough? He had worked hard and sacrificed much for his tribe, his people, and his family.  He was tired but felt he had done what he could and now it’s time for the next generation to carry the fight.  He had no reason to feel ashamed of his actions and he would face the elders with his head held high.

The points of light in the sky danced in his eyes. Each a glimmering jewel offered as enticement of what treasures he may find in the otherworld.

It was time.

He walked out of the observation deck down to the hangars. One last trip in his Vagabond.

Far behind where the veteran soldier stood,  unobserved in a dark alcove, a new recruit. He had barely known the man that stood there but felt the sorrow and pain that years of struggle have loaded on his shoulders.

He walked up to the observation window and whispered to himself as much as to the memory of the pilot that had just been standing there.

“Farewell brave warrior.
Your fight will continue – This I Swear.
Go now and rest a well deserved rest.
Go home and guide us in our struggle from the halls of the elders.
You have been, and are,  an inspiration to us all.”

“WE COME FOR OUR PEOPLE”

[OOC]  I voted a few days ago but saw Hallan Turek had posted this and liked the idea very much.

Go exercise your right to vote today.  CSM is unique amongst MMOs and whether or not you agree with their direction in the past you are voting on the future and you have the opportunity to affect change in game through your choice in a candidate.

I was torn between two candidates and wish we had more than one vote (primary/secondary) but such is life.   I voted for Heartstone .  My reasons are many, but I would like to see more love given to low sec and to FW.

Research, learn who the candidates are and make an informed decision based on your play style and needs.

Remember change is inevitable, whether or not the changes favour your play style could be determined by your vote.

The image comes from Articulated Sky

Move ships, review hangar, reprocess salvage and crap loot….  When does anyone have time to fight this damn war?  For every couple of kills there’s so much to do and let’s not forget about the constant training.  It’s a wonder I get any sleep at all.

oh…

I left the log on.  Right then…

Personal Log: 051220091650

“First entry.”  *mumbles* …I suppose I should say something about myself

Thorvik!  My name is Thorvik.  I was “born” (as they say) on Stardate 052920080200.  For those of you who don’t know what I mean is that I entered into the quasi-immortal life of being a pod pilot /capsuleer.  I graduated from the Republic Military School with all the expectations of a young pilot with a degree in ‘Special Forces’.  HA!
What they taught me was basic (to say the least) and would now fill less than .00000000000001 m3 in my cargohold.  And SPECIAL FORCES?  LOL.  After nearly a year in space I think this is about as funny as things go.  The only “Special Forces” I was qualified to do as my Reaper left the loading dock was mining and even then had I known then what I know now, I would have soiled my pod!

Never really thought of keeping a log as my life is somewhat uninteresting, or at least it seems so from my perspective.

As mentioned, I became a pod pilot nearly a year ago once I became aware.  Funny word that is:  “Aware” – having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception.  I seem to have moments of awareness alot.  Awareness is sometimes fleeting and sometimes it hits like a Cruise Missile.

My life prior to entering into RMS still is nothing but fleeting images, loud explosions, and a series of faces that run through my memory like some mythological Minmatar creature on boosters (scary and yet distant).  I remember and yet I don’t.  Somehow I ended up in space with electronics attached to my cerebral cortex and enrolled in a military school.  I suppose that would sound normal to some and a bit odd to others but I really don’t know how I feel about it.  It just is.

What little of my life I remember is very much a blur.  Many around me have stories from slave labour camps or they tell tales of their life in their villages.  I sometimes dream of   Following graduation, I hung around near the station for a week or so, much like a baby bird  (strange… I remember birds) unsure or unaware of what could happen should I leave.  I ran out of these missions that my counselor suggested I do following my graduation from RMS and needed to spread my wings.

Where did I end up?  I have no idea.  I floated around and did random missions going from station to station being very careful not to fall off into the abyss (Low Security Space).  There are pirates!!! (lol) there and I have had a few pirates attack me during some of my missions but I heard very bad things happen in Low Sec so I stayed away.  *shakes head*  I had no idea.  I really had no friggin clue.  I was a confused kid.  A carebear with a military education and a very enigmatic diploma title from one of the Republic’s finest military academies.

A frightened child with no idea of where I was or where I was going.

Was I, Am I ‘aware’ ?  No, yes.  maybe?

Lessons learned during the first few weeks….. I should have stuck with my rifter and not wasted my money in Rens on booze, women, fancy mods and useless crap.   T1 all the way until I had enough skills to lvl IV to even deserve to fly anything with the T2 designation.