Hulkageddon starts and the ISK 3.0.

And so the Hulkageddon is upon us yet again.  It's been some time now since I've actually worried about the Hulkageddon, I don't mine that much anymore, it mostly comes through the market for me these days.  I do try to avoid flying freighters/Orcas or other "easy to hit" industrial during this time though, rather opting for my blockade runner to move stuff if need be.  Hulkageddon is really not that much of a problem if you take some precautions and use your head, should you get your Hulk/other highly expensive industrial ship ganked during this time, it's pretty much your own fault.  Saying that, I'll probably loose something shiny myself this time around, should that happen I swear not to whine about it.

I know several "carebears" and industrialists whinge and complain about Hulkageddon and I don't really understand this, as I stated above, staying safe isn't really all to hard if you stay smart.  I understand that you have to switch the "autopilot" mentality off, but in my opinion we're playing a multi player game, Playing being the operative word here.  If your need to play AFK is that high and you find yourself auto piloting a wreck when you return to the keyboard, tough.

Hulkageddon also presents a great way of making lots of money.  There are several new market opportunities during Hulkageddon, and they're also rather obvious if you know where to look.

In other news, EON has released the new ISK 3.0 guide, it's a 80 mb PDF download and it's worth every bit.  It's also FREE and although aimed at the newer player everyone can probably learn something from it, it nothing else it's a great little reference manual.  According to several other blogs around, it's the manual that CCP should have written to accompany EVE and I can agree with that.

http://www.isktheguide.com/

Fly safe.

2011, still going!

Happy new year to all and may 2011 rain isk or KM's on you, depending on preference.  Myself, I'll take the isk.
2010 ended quietly for me, bogged down in work and family stuff to attend for the holliday I got precious little EVE time in, such is life.  I've mostly been managing trade orders once a day, neglecting everything else and anxiously been waiting for the next Incursions installement to be deployed.  I'm actually looking forward to the new character creator specifically, and I'm not quite sure why I do it.  It's going to be very wierd to change portraits, I've been running around SiSi for a little bit and seeing that new picture in local is downright unerving.  When I get used to it though, the new creator is amazing and I'm really looking forward to recreating faces that have been with me for years now, I suspect I'll spend a few hours tweaking when the creator drops.

There's another couple of things about the patch, the shortcuts and the new NeoCom.  I love the shortcuts, absolutely love them, they're intuitive, they're quick and they reduce clicking by an awsome amount, BUT, I will not get over the fact that I have to click in the chatwindow to type now.  For that reason alone I will probably not use the shortcuts at all, I'm way to used to just start typing when I need instead of clicking somewhere.
The new NeoCom is also great, it has to be enabled in the menus as some BETA option, the problem though is that I will now have to start playing EVE in fullscreen mode.  Previously, EVEMON centered my windowed EVE for me, now I have to use some "Fixed" window option, the downside of this is that the windows start bar has priority at the bottom of my screen, the new NeoCom is also at the bottom of the screen.  Everytime I go for the new NeoCom the windows start bar pop's up.  Small complaints, I know, but still.  I'll have to find a way to get around it, preferably without going back to fullscreen.

Still, Incursions pt. 2 is looking great, can't say how much I appreciate CCP for holding back, staggering deployment and making it all nice and polished before release.

Fly safe all.

Skill Training Completed : Exhumers V

I'd say finally, but it's more been a case of not bothering until recently, I have however "finally" completed Exhumers level 5.  I trained it straight to 4 when I first trained for the Hulk's and it's just been sitting there ever since, it was only after my last skill completion that I decided it was about time to max it out, even though I don't mine as much any more.
I usually trade for my minerals these days, buy cheap, sell high or keep for production.  I've been making some decent money since I got my freighter and started some inter regional mineral trades, there are some good deals to be had out there if you look for them.
Can't say I really feel the difference of those last 3%, but I have been hitting some belts lately, zoning out to the "zen" of the strip miners humming.  Either way, it's a skill I feel I should have as a proper industrialist/miner.

I've also spent some time on SiSi with Evv these last days, testing out some of the sansha stuff, or rather getting me behind handed to me by the Sansha stuff.
I've been flying solo so far so I've not gotten into the sites, I did however head off to an invaded system with the intent to check the belts for the new residents.
So, I fitted up a Sacrilege, figured I'd want tank over gank if I wanted to see anything, tanked it up as best i could and set a destination for Lermireve.  The new journal page is rather handy, it shows you the invaded systems, effects present in the system, the influence ratio and buttons for easy autopilot settings to systems or staging systems.
I arrived in Lerm, checked the gate for nasty pirates, even though there should'nt be any, I'm paranoid, and was immediately greeted with the effects thingy on the left saying your tank, damage, and bounty rate sucks now.
I was however not intimidated by some lowly rats and pointed my noble Sacrilege to the first belt i could see.  There were several beacons in the system, but I wasn't stupid enough to solo warp in on them.

I hit belt and I'm greeted by 2 non descript frigates, a named cruiser and a named battleship.  I lock them all up and fire a volley off at the first frigate, asuming they're the ones that will tackle me I want them dead first.
The Sansha was not impressed however and within a few seconds I was jammed out by the cruiser and neuted dry by the battleship.  I did get another missile volley off at the cruiser between jam cycles, but a few seconds after that my tank was hurting bad and I had to bail out.  The Sansha means bussiness I guess.

Incursions should be very interesting and certainly make high sec a little less safe, I've heard rumors of Sansha gatecamps, but I've no idea if they will scram you or otherwise force a fight.  I do know that I will not be taking my freighter through invaded systems without a heavy escort.
I sure will try to check out the sites on SiSi aswell, and maybe even attempt to kill one of the things this time.

Very pleased that CCP pulled the release of the expansion, opting to do it "right" rather then on time, all in all it's looking pretty good as far as I can see.

Fly safe.

Empire wars, PI and other stuff.

I've bought a freighter, yay me.  I'm the proud owner of an Obelisk class freighter now, and have been for a month or so in fact.  I buy the freighter and three days later we have a wardecc on the alliance, good timing indeed.
Anyway, two wardeccs later, we had one declared a day after the first one expired, I still have my freighter and I'm eagerly awaiting the Incursions expansion.  The reason I'm so anxious for it is summed up simply with two letters. PI!!
I have three planetary colonies, they've been dormant for ages, I mean ages.  I've not had the will to keep them running, but hey, I figure I'm missing out on iskies here so I go to fire them back up just now.
I suddenly remember why they've been dormant for ages.
The amount of clicks needed to do anything is horrible, but I do at least get a yellow circle now on the ones that have been edited.  I've been promised a better PI system in Incursions and I really hope they deliver, cause I am missing out on iskies here and I don't like it.

Either way, lifes been pretty quiet here in high sec lately, haven't done much exciting things for a while.
Been finishing up on some industrial skills, getting my freighter, working up the courage to manage my colonies and thinking of trying my hand on T2 production.

Fly safe.

HULKAGEDDON Ends!!

And so, Hulkageddon ends.
I've played it smart during the event, like I usually do, and kept my expensive and easy to catch industrial ships docked.  Now Hulkageddon doesn't really hamper your way to make money, you just gotta look elsewhere.
I've mostly been doing missions, scanning various sites and traded, it's not to hard to get around safely in a Blockade Runner after all.
I don't mine that much these days anyway, rather relying on the market for my minerals, it just took a little more time then usuall to round it all up (blocade runners are great, but low on cargo space).

Been plenty of outlaws in my local though, so I expect a fair few people got caught out there, more money for the rest of us I guess.

Fly safe.

Eve Tribune Invention and T2 Production guide

Excellent read from the Tribune this week, if you're looking to get into T2 production you may want to give this one a try.
I'm considering taking the step into T2 myself, if nothing else just to try it a little and see if I can turn a profit on it, and I'll be sure to keep this guide close at hand.

Eve Tribune #17, Year 5 - An Industrial Guide to Invention and T2 Production

Where did all the belts go?

A long time ago, in a galaxy.......
Well, not that long really although i don't quite remember when this change went through right now.  There was a very real risk of warping to an asteroid belt and finding it empty.  You could find entire systems empty, only a few rocks left here and there, this was before the increase in high sec belt re spawn.
Miners rejoiced all over New Eden I guess, there would hardly be any competition over resources now, or rather competition didn't matter anymore.  There are many great and positive things about this, but I can't help thinking that it takes some things away from "us" as well.
Now, being a miner, and industrialist and a carebear, I should be happy about the change and not think thoughts like this at all, but where's the competition gone with this change?

There is no point in looking for "good" systems now, pockets hidden away from the pipes with good belts, private systems you spent days looking for.  These days you can just pick any old system with lots of belts, don't matter how many people mine there, the belts are back tomorrow anyway.
There are no empire wars fought over resources now, if an industrial corp is getting dec'ed these days it's most likely 100% "griefing".  That is a valid reason and tactic in it's own way, but it's a shame that we don't get the occasional war fought over actual resources and "mining rights", perhaps on somewhat more equal terms then the grief wars.

As stated above, I'm not much of a fighter, so me wanting a war might sound a little odd.  I would however be much more inclined to fighting with whatever I had against another industrial focused corporation to increase future profits or to protect a valuable system.  In the same way I'd also be more inclined to spend money on mercenaries to further the same goals.
Now, one can say that you can have all this, everything mentioned above, just move to 0.0.
I don't want to move to 0.0 right now, I like my empire life as it is at this time, I'd just like it to be a little more dynamic then it is right now.
The occasional fight over something that mattered to me would be a lot more fun then getting dec'ed by someone you can hardly fight, seeing as I have nothing to gain from fighting either there's little reason to undock at all.
Maybe we would get more "carebears" strapping guns on their ships if there were more reasons for doing it.

This could just be and most likely is wishful thinking, chances are that the state of affairs would be the same as it is now.  Stay docked, no reason to fight anyway.
Speaking from a personal point of view though, I'd be much more inclined to training for a little combat and even fighting a bit if I knew a tasty system with lots of belts where on the line.  Throwing those nasty strip miners out of my system so I could strip mine it instead would be a nice motivator.
Maybe Tyrannis and PI will bring something like this in, I'm not sure quite how the planets will work, if there's limited resources and if they're worth fighting for.
I would certainly find it more interesting if small wars broke out between industrial corporations/their Merc's for control over particularly valuable planets in a system.
It would certainly create a better contract base for High sec mercenary work as well.

The more probes, the better.

I've only done some minor industry this weekend, with the war going on and all I've been waiting on a few jobs to come off the assembly lines and adjusting a few market orders, pretty quiet.
My AF training finished though and I immediately set out to buy and fit an Ishkur Assault Frigate, it's a blast flying the thing.  It handles very well, tanks well for a frigate and even with my sad gunnery skills it still does good damage on account of the drones.  I've been ripping through some low level missions for a little standing with the stations i usually reside in, I'm rather impressed with how well it does.  Good looking as well, I've always liked the Incursus model hull.

I've mostly been doing exploration this last week, been taking my Helios out quite a lot looking for sites of various value.
It's been a good week, I've found several Radar site (think they're radar at least, don't remember right now) containing several datacores, some skill books and other stuff.  I'm sure it would bring in quite a lot of ISK if I sold it, I've held on to it in case I need it for some future build jobs though, there's some BPC's for named items residing in my BPC can requiring several odd parts like that.  They've been lying in there for ages now waiting for me to get around to building them, "slither" blasters amongst other things, I don't even remember where I got them.
I'm not the quickest scanner, my exploration career started with the change to the new system and it's not a skill I've refined and practiced for long.  I do get by though, I have moderate scanning skills now and a rigged Helios which certainly helps out on nailing the signatures.  I have also decided that more probes is better, five probes at a time is my preffered number.
Drop one or more probes to cover all the system celestials, find some signatures, then dump a probe on top of one with four others overlapping around.
There are some duplicate signatures at times, I'm not sure if that's due to the number of probes I'm using or not, but I usually nail the signature in the end and within reasonable time.

The war dropped on saturday so I'm still red until sunday afternoon, but I'm glad it ended so quick.  No idea behind the motivation of it or why it was dropped so quick, just glad I can revert to normal operations again.

Settling in.

I've had a few days to settle down in my new corporation now, getting to now a few of the people and the routines and such.
I have to say I'm so far very happy with my decision in leaving my independent corp behind, becoming a grunt again and just doing my thing.
I've also participated in a mining op with the corporation with the intent of producing ships for members and I have to say it was an enjoyable affair to mine in a fleet again.  I'll give you as much, mining can at any given time only get so interesting, it's refreshing however to mine in a fleet as opposed to alone, breaks the monotony.

I've also resumed my old business of ship production, focusing mostly on a few cruiser hulls and a battleship hull, business is good.  Looking for a new goal, something small to work towards or branching out my current business, I've contemplated getting into some T2 ammo production.
I've not run any numbers on it yet, no research, just a thought for now, it does seem a lot less intensive then full scale T2 ship production though.  Ammo should also have the benefit of higher turnover.
I'll probably hold off any new ventures in preparation of Tyrannis though, I'm guessing I wanna get in on the planetary action as soon as possible and I've no idea what kind of money or time that's gonna require yet.

A New Beginning

After a recent return to EVE after a short break due to real life circumstances, I've decided I need to make some changes to my in game life.
EVE is an MMO and as such is best enjoyed playing with other people, before my little break I was sitting in a small corp I started a long time ago with the intent of making it the next high sec industrial powerhouse.
Powerhouse was somewhat optimistic and it quickly ended up being me, a couple of friends and a precious few random recruits coming and going.

I decided I wanted a little more out of the game this time, both in and out of New Eden, so I remembered this little blog account I had and thought I'd jot down some words every now and then.  The life of a high sec industrial carebear, albeit not tremendously exciting might after all be worthy of a mention and if nothing else, it might add another dimension to my own playing.

The other thing I quickly set out to do was finding a corporation of some size.  I didn't want a corp that was to big, getting lost in the numbers right away ain't fun, but rather some smaller sized corp with a goal and some growth.
I faced the dread of the spam channel (recruitment channel) and browsed the forums until I found something that looked promising.
Not to big.
Part of an alliance.
Clear goal and equal mindset.
Teamwork and few "mandatory" ops, respecting real life.

After hopping into their public channel and having a few chats with the members and directors I decided to make the plunge.
I was strangely hard to close up my affairs in the old corp, even though it clearly wasn't what I wanted at this point in time, it was still somewhere I'd spent a lot of time and effort.
I transferred CEO, closed down my hangars, rounded up assets and started the move to greener pastures.

And here I am, new corp, new space, new ores to mine and new friends to make.
I'm feeling pretty good about my choice and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead again, instead of just the daily grind I used to be in.