Last week, we had a brave opponent decide to step up and set up an alliance to declare war on us. His stated goal was to destroy Ivy League (Eve University) and ruin us. Well, a few small corps of 1-2 people have joined his alliance, but from the looks of things, are all alts of his trying to make his alliance look bigger.
He posted to the C&P forum to try and drum up support, but mostly got laughed at by the regular members of C&P...and when C&P is laughing at you, its pretty funny (I love C&P btw...its a great read).
The war has been going on for a week, and other than some small single player stuff trying to pick off loan people, the lack of action has been amazingly predictable. At some point, you'd think that the 1b spent on an alliance and the 50-100m a week would be better served in some other means, but i'm not seeing that happen yet. We'll see what the next week brings us.
Me
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Aesthetics- Time to earn some Isk
My forum signature isn't really functioning well as the banner for this blog, so I'm opening up a contest.
50m isk to the best Banner design for this blog. It should match the existing color scheme, and include some nice pictures of spaceships (amarr and gallente PVP are preferred, but fleet action is cool as well).
Possible other things to include: Pithy saying, my name, blog name, something about the Uni, etc..
Should not include: My current avatar picture, as that's changing soon.
I have absolutely no photoshop skills, so I really could use a hand on this. I can't wait to see what people can generate.
50m isk to the best Banner design for this blog. It should match the existing color scheme, and include some nice pictures of spaceships (amarr and gallente PVP are preferred, but fleet action is cool as well).
Possible other things to include: Pithy saying, my name, blog name, something about the Uni, etc..
Should not include: My current avatar picture, as that's changing soon.
I have absolutely no photoshop skills, so I really could use a hand on this. I can't wait to see what people can generate.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
My new face
I've been experimenting on Sisi, trying to practice making a new face for myself. The new system has a lot of promise, but there are a few parts that I really dislike
-Long hair styles. I cannot get a long hair style that doesn't make my forehead look like it is monstrous. I really wanted a picture that is similiar to my existing style, but its difficult with their pre-rendered choices. A greater selection of decent hair styles would be nice.
-Eye position. While I can edit quite a bit about my eyes, I'm limited as to eye tilt or verticle eye placement. This limits the variety of face types I can create, and makes it hard to capture Azmodeus Valar's current look.
-Face Shape. While I can edit a lot about my face shape, I'm having trouble capturing the face shape of my existing character. The new system needs to be able to create the same face shapes as the previous system.
-Assymetrical Editing. Right now, anything I sculpt is changed on the other side of the face as well. While not quite as bad for me, I'll miss seeing faces like Backdoor Bandit's.
-Sliders. The grab and pull interface is fine, but I would like to see some representation of how much I have sculpted as compare to the range of how much i can sculpt. A visual x/y axis would really help.
-Wheels. They are just horrible. Some way to instantly see what each option is (sims interface) would be much better.
-Breasts. It is suprisingly hard to come up with options that don't look outlandish. Some more variety would be nice.
-Clothes. Not every material is latex. Don't treat it like it is. I'd love to see fabric hanging and swirling.
Without the ability to recreate an identity that looks similiar to my current one, I am very disappointed with the system. I've grown quite attached to my current look, and while I appreciate the updated graphics, I hope a lot more work is done before it goes live in Incursion. Maybe they need to consider delaying this till Incursion 1.5 to make sure there is a decent wealth of options to truly let us customize our looks.
-Long hair styles. I cannot get a long hair style that doesn't make my forehead look like it is monstrous. I really wanted a picture that is similiar to my existing style, but its difficult with their pre-rendered choices. A greater selection of decent hair styles would be nice.
-Eye position. While I can edit quite a bit about my eyes, I'm limited as to eye tilt or verticle eye placement. This limits the variety of face types I can create, and makes it hard to capture Azmodeus Valar's current look.
-Face Shape. While I can edit a lot about my face shape, I'm having trouble capturing the face shape of my existing character. The new system needs to be able to create the same face shapes as the previous system.
-Assymetrical Editing. Right now, anything I sculpt is changed on the other side of the face as well. While not quite as bad for me, I'll miss seeing faces like Backdoor Bandit's.
-Sliders. The grab and pull interface is fine, but I would like to see some representation of how much I have sculpted as compare to the range of how much i can sculpt. A visual x/y axis would really help.
-Wheels. They are just horrible. Some way to instantly see what each option is (sims interface) would be much better.
-Breasts. It is suprisingly hard to come up with options that don't look outlandish. Some more variety would be nice.
-Clothes. Not every material is latex. Don't treat it like it is. I'd love to see fabric hanging and swirling.
Without the ability to recreate an identity that looks similiar to my current one, I am very disappointed with the system. I've grown quite attached to my current look, and while I appreciate the updated graphics, I hope a lot more work is done before it goes live in Incursion. Maybe they need to consider delaying this till Incursion 1.5 to make sure there is a decent wealth of options to truly let us customize our looks.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Amateur Hour- Cost considerations of Scamming
We recently had someone do a minor scam (4b) in Ivy. Now, scamming is an amazing thing when done well, but there was already somewhat decent chance this would go sour from the very beginning. In fact, myself and Master Akira both posted something to that fact. Despite this, I decided to invest 750m just to see what would happen. At the worst, I'd lose some pocket change. At best, I'd make a bit of isk and see what was going on.
It did turn out to be a scam, and the person was quite proud of it. However, I am having trouble understanding the economics of the scam. For one, the setup for the scam (first legitmate run), may have cost anywhere from 0 isk to 1.6b isk to do. Even assuming best case, where they walk away with the full 4b, I have trouble seeing how that payoff was worth the damage they did to their character. Due to api information and their own admissions, this person has several public alts. While some of them may have no skill training, others (including the scam char) do. I cannot see how 4b isk is worth burning those characters. Especially where more patience and planning could easily have upped the payoff to something that would allow them to just buy a new comparable character.
This makes me wonder how many scams are really planned from the beginning, and how many are just people who get sick of their endeavor and decide to take it all and pass it off as a master plan. I know that if I had done M&D IPO scams in the past (neither confirming or denying), I would make sure its on an unaffiliated account, spend some time building reputation, and if the account is linkable to any other account, make sure its one with a relatively low amount of training. This allows the payoff to cover buying a character that can easily replace the ones used in the scam. Only if the scam is very large would I consider using a character with significant skill training (depending on the function of the character. Characters that are trained to never leave a station don't matter, as long as they aren't linked to other characters that do).
My issue isn't with the scamming, as thats a celebrated part of EVE, but instead with the seeming lack of planning to truly make it a worthwhile scam. While 4b seems like a lot to newer players, it really isn't going to do much in the long run, or probably make it worth burning the reputation of a character that could be used to make much more.
What are your thoughts? Is 4b enough for you to take a hit to your main's reputation? I know I wouldn't doing anything to hit Azmodeus' reputation for 4b. It would have to be substantially more (several orders of magnitude) for it even to make economic sense (I'm ignoring any ethical/moral considerations in internet spaceships to instead concentrate on economic factors only).
It did turn out to be a scam, and the person was quite proud of it. However, I am having trouble understanding the economics of the scam. For one, the setup for the scam (first legitmate run), may have cost anywhere from 0 isk to 1.6b isk to do. Even assuming best case, where they walk away with the full 4b, I have trouble seeing how that payoff was worth the damage they did to their character. Due to api information and their own admissions, this person has several public alts. While some of them may have no skill training, others (including the scam char) do. I cannot see how 4b isk is worth burning those characters. Especially where more patience and planning could easily have upped the payoff to something that would allow them to just buy a new comparable character.
This makes me wonder how many scams are really planned from the beginning, and how many are just people who get sick of their endeavor and decide to take it all and pass it off as a master plan. I know that if I had done M&D IPO scams in the past (neither confirming or denying), I would make sure its on an unaffiliated account, spend some time building reputation, and if the account is linkable to any other account, make sure its one with a relatively low amount of training. This allows the payoff to cover buying a character that can easily replace the ones used in the scam. Only if the scam is very large would I consider using a character with significant skill training (depending on the function of the character. Characters that are trained to never leave a station don't matter, as long as they aren't linked to other characters that do).
My issue isn't with the scamming, as thats a celebrated part of EVE, but instead with the seeming lack of planning to truly make it a worthwhile scam. While 4b seems like a lot to newer players, it really isn't going to do much in the long run, or probably make it worth burning the reputation of a character that could be used to make much more.
What are your thoughts? Is 4b enough for you to take a hit to your main's reputation? I know I wouldn't doing anything to hit Azmodeus' reputation for 4b. It would have to be substantially more (several orders of magnitude) for it even to make economic sense (I'm ignoring any ethical/moral considerations in internet spaceships to instead concentrate on economic factors only).
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
W-space: The next frontier?
W-space is a great opportunity for many players. Not only does it offer some possibities for group PVE and decent isk, but it also exposes players to small gang (and larger) PVP. No local is a great refinement, as it forces players to really pay attention.
In the past, the Uni has tried to have a w-space presence, but the last w-space group split off and formed their own corporation. In many ways, this was unexpected, as a full-time w-space occupation takes the entire concentration of the players involved, in some ways isolating them from the rest of the corporation community. For the players in the wormhole, it gives them the chance to truly work together as a tightly bound group, and explore some content that they normally might not be immersed in.
However, it isn't without its downfalls for the University as a whole. First, the nature of wormholes lend themselves more towards higher sp players (at least higher sp in University terms). There is little point to the University occupying a lower class wormhole, as it doesn't give much more advantage then just doing day trips to w-space, and it doesn't really support older players or groups as well. But, these lower class wormholes are places where some of the younger players could be active. A mid level wormhole offers older players a chance to use their skills, and really benefits group operations (they are required for most of our students to tackle the sites). But these types of wormholes aren't easily accessible for new students,so it tends to become seen as an "elite" project for older players in the UNI. Secondly, security concerns tend to make the wormhole a closed group, not easy to penetrate.
We're kind of torn about how we should approach w-space in the future. Should we look for a permanent presence, and what type? How do we make it approachable for all students? Are the types of opportunities offered by w-space (new ways to make isk, exploring other aspects of the game, different types of PVP) something we should pursue despite the risks? How do you feel this can be accomplished without fragmenting the University community?
In the past, the Uni has tried to have a w-space presence, but the last w-space group split off and formed their own corporation. In many ways, this was unexpected, as a full-time w-space occupation takes the entire concentration of the players involved, in some ways isolating them from the rest of the corporation community. For the players in the wormhole, it gives them the chance to truly work together as a tightly bound group, and explore some content that they normally might not be immersed in.
However, it isn't without its downfalls for the University as a whole. First, the nature of wormholes lend themselves more towards higher sp players (at least higher sp in University terms). There is little point to the University occupying a lower class wormhole, as it doesn't give much more advantage then just doing day trips to w-space, and it doesn't really support older players or groups as well. But, these lower class wormholes are places where some of the younger players could be active. A mid level wormhole offers older players a chance to use their skills, and really benefits group operations (they are required for most of our students to tackle the sites). But these types of wormholes aren't easily accessible for new students,so it tends to become seen as an "elite" project for older players in the UNI. Secondly, security concerns tend to make the wormhole a closed group, not easy to penetrate.
We're kind of torn about how we should approach w-space in the future. Should we look for a permanent presence, and what type? How do we make it approachable for all students? Are the types of opportunities offered by w-space (new ways to make isk, exploring other aspects of the game, different types of PVP) something we should pursue despite the risks? How do you feel this can be accomplished without fragmenting the University community?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Plex Prices: Overinflated?
The last few months have shown a steady rise in plex prices, followed by a quick rise over the last few weeks. There are several factors that have been contributing to this price increase.
First, CCP allowed the donation of Plex to charity, and we've seen the ability for plex to be moved in space introduce last Spring. Both of these factors result in plex items being removed from the economy, lowering supply. This is most likely a significant part of the price increases over the summer.
Second, CCP has announced that Plex will be used to get remaps once Incursions hits. Currently, there is a huge divide in the playerbase with regards to this issue, but it motivated speculators to heavily enter the market, both for this exchange and possible future plex uses. However, has the plex bubble gotten too big? Are speculators misjudging the increased demand that will come into effect this Novemeber? At this point, I'm unsure of which is the case. Personally, I plan on using a few extra plexes for remaps across my accounts, but I don't forsee this becoming a typical use. Most likely, I'll use it to optimize shorter plans of 4-8 months. However, my current plex usage is already around 72 plex a year just to stay subscribed (depending on the amount of accounts I have active). 6-10 more is an increase in demand, but I'm not sure that its enough. As plex prices rise, the incentive for players to purchase and sell them for isk also rises, and some players may have to transition from using plex to using real money for their subscription costs. The equilibrium point is completely unknown at this point.
What do you think will happen to the market? Do you see Plex pricse stabalizing near where they are now (Jita, 380m)? Or do you see them rising or falling from this price in the long term?
First, CCP allowed the donation of Plex to charity, and we've seen the ability for plex to be moved in space introduce last Spring. Both of these factors result in plex items being removed from the economy, lowering supply. This is most likely a significant part of the price increases over the summer.
Second, CCP has announced that Plex will be used to get remaps once Incursions hits. Currently, there is a huge divide in the playerbase with regards to this issue, but it motivated speculators to heavily enter the market, both for this exchange and possible future plex uses. However, has the plex bubble gotten too big? Are speculators misjudging the increased demand that will come into effect this Novemeber? At this point, I'm unsure of which is the case. Personally, I plan on using a few extra plexes for remaps across my accounts, but I don't forsee this becoming a typical use. Most likely, I'll use it to optimize shorter plans of 4-8 months. However, my current plex usage is already around 72 plex a year just to stay subscribed (depending on the amount of accounts I have active). 6-10 more is an increase in demand, but I'm not sure that its enough. As plex prices rise, the incentive for players to purchase and sell them for isk also rises, and some players may have to transition from using plex to using real money for their subscription costs. The equilibrium point is completely unknown at this point.
What do you think will happen to the market? Do you see Plex pricse stabalizing near where they are now (Jita, 380m)? Or do you see them rising or falling from this price in the long term?
Saturday, October 9, 2010
We're doing great, but we can always do better
The UNI has been in existence for years, helping new students learn the ropes and guide them towards their future homes in EVE. We've constantly evolved our services and structure to better suit students, and will continue to make changes as necessary.
During my tenure, we've drastically increased skillbooks and items available to students, and added several ways for students to acquire bigger ships at discounted costs. We've restructured the ILN into BGs to help PVP oriented characters. We've ravamped recruiting to help streamline the process and make it both more uniform and secure. Our chatchannels were redone to help assist people who drop during wartime and create a larger E-UNI community. W-space and low-sec ops give much more small gang opportunities that we had previously, and our wiki has helped centralize information for our students.
How would you like to see the UNI change in the future,, and how can you help make that change happen?
During my tenure, we've drastically increased skillbooks and items available to students, and added several ways for students to acquire bigger ships at discounted costs. We've restructured the ILN into BGs to help PVP oriented characters. We've ravamped recruiting to help streamline the process and make it both more uniform and secure. Our chatchannels were redone to help assist people who drop during wartime and create a larger E-UNI community. W-space and low-sec ops give much more small gang opportunities that we had previously, and our wiki has helped centralize information for our students.
How would you like to see the UNI change in the future,, and how can you help make that change happen?
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