Our recent spate of wardecs has come to an end, and the University is making its way back to normal. People are rejoining, income is starting to flow in (the University makes no tax money during wars due to SOP), and we start to get back into the flow of peacetime.
However, this situation is not without drama, not without those who attack the opinions of their betters, spread misinformation, and sully the very world with their presence. I speak, of course, about the Recruiting department. This group of 30-50 players has thrown the gauntlet at my division, Logistics, threatening us and challenging us to a duel. Of course, my division, all 15 of us, expect to handily wipe the floor with them. We will show them the power of teamwork and coordination, backed by the greatest minds and industrial might of the Uni. Our greatest challenge will be concealing our strength and power in order to get them to actually take the field against us. For if they truly grasped our magnificence, they would be reluctant to undock from their stations, let alone approach our ships with live weapons.
We plan on crushing our enemies -- watching them driven before us, and hearing the lamentation of their women. We will tear their shields, rip holes through their armor, and send their weak pods scurrying away back into the darkness from which they came.
We will field a team of talented individuals in impeccability constructed wholes, purpose fit to coordinate efforts to demolish our enemies. We will employ ingenious tactics, superb target calling, complementary fits, and unprecedented pilot skill to dominate the field. Or, we may just purchase a MS and hotdrop it on them.....its still up in the air. The rest of the department wants plan A, I want plan B.
No matter what happens, rest assured, that the greater side will win. Logistics will rule the field of battle.
(If you couldn't tell, this post isn't meant seriously. The ROs really aren't bad guys, and dueling each other is just a fun way to blow off steam)
Me
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Why I Love Eve
If you've been reading my blog, you'll recall that I previously blogged about someone who had decided to form an alliance, dec Eve University, and welcome anyone who wanted to join in their war.
I have to admit, I was wrong in my original post. I had assumed that the 1 person corps forming their alliance were their own alts trying to make it look more successful than it was. However, a recent post on C&P makes it seem like one of the great people in that channel saw an idiot and decided to take advantage of them.
I've done some looking into it, and my sources are relatively certain we've identified the person behind it, and I'm pretty impressed. Using a few disposable alts and a couple of million in isk to form some alt-corps, this person managed to take away the alliance someone else spent 1b on.
This is why I love Eve. Someone can use some planning, a tiny bit of effort, and completely capitalize on the stupidity of others. If someone forms an alliance and doesn't understand alliance mechanics, you can use that. If someone forms a corporation and doesn't understand corp mechanics or security, you can use that against them. Its a land of possibilities where planning goes a long way.
Its also why I love reading C&P, though it seems to not be quite as much fun as it used to be. The poasting isn't living up to old standards.
I have to admit, I was wrong in my original post. I had assumed that the 1 person corps forming their alliance were their own alts trying to make it look more successful than it was. However, a recent post on C&P makes it seem like one of the great people in that channel saw an idiot and decided to take advantage of them.
I've done some looking into it, and my sources are relatively certain we've identified the person behind it, and I'm pretty impressed. Using a few disposable alts and a couple of million in isk to form some alt-corps, this person managed to take away the alliance someone else spent 1b on.
This is why I love Eve. Someone can use some planning, a tiny bit of effort, and completely capitalize on the stupidity of others. If someone forms an alliance and doesn't understand alliance mechanics, you can use that. If someone forms a corporation and doesn't understand corp mechanics or security, you can use that against them. Its a land of possibilities where planning goes a long way.
Its also why I love reading C&P, though it seems to not be quite as much fun as it used to be. The poasting isn't living up to old standards.
I may have a problem
I posted in the Uni management section this week to say that I would be out of town for part of November for my delayed honeymoon. I commented that I probably wouldn't be able to get in-game, as the laptop I was taking might not handle eve, but that I would still be checking forums daily.
Some of the other people said that if i was checking Eve on my honeymoon, something is wrong with me. I reminded them that I had actually logged in on my wedding day to deal with some issues.... I think I may have an addiction...
Also, my wife is very understanding.
Some of the other people said that if i was checking Eve on my honeymoon, something is wrong with me. I reminded them that I had actually logged in on my wedding day to deal with some issues.... I think I may have an addiction...
Also, my wife is very understanding.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Corporate Identity and Large Numbers
The Ivy League is a very interesting case for most alliances, as it has 1500 members, all but probably 5-10 of which are in a single corp (EVE University). This leads to some strange dynamics.
In a lot of other alliances, individual corps can be much smaller, allowing them to form very tightly bound associations within the corporation, and a much looser loyalty tie to the alliance, and a looser one still to the powerblock of which their alliance is a member. This can frequently be seen when corporations stay relatively stable and just switch alliances whenever alliance drama hits. It usually takes significantly more drama to make an established corporation collapse when its alliance collapses, unless it was the central entity of that alliance.
Ivy League alliance is fundamentally just EVE Unversity, with a few support chars (very few) in associated corporations. This alters the normal alliance/corp bond, as the two are interchangable entities. However, it can still be seen to some extent even in E-UNI by the number of pilots who only identify themselves as E-UNI pilots, not IVY pilots.
In the University, this leads to some interesting social dynamics. With 1500 people, we have too large of a community to allow more personality based leadership styles to easily function. Dunbar's number helps explain this to some extent, especially when combined with the global nature of the alliance and the fact that no central leader will ever be equally present in every TZ.
This causes subgroups to form within the University. Sometimes they are groups of friends that share a same TZ, or other groups that share a central activity they enjoy (missions, PVP, wormholes, etc...). Some of the groups are established by the University to organize students (such as ILN battlegroups), while others are formed by the students themselves. However, the University has to insure that all of the subgroups that form are always oriented towards the central goal of the corporation, which is to educate students. This can cause some drama from time to time (see D6 - just an example...love you guys).
In my opinion, any organization of 1500 people will never be able to prevent unoffical groups from forming. Its just trying to stop human nature. People have a much easier time bonding to a close group of friends than to a 1500 person entity organized around an ideal. However, as long as we can insure that the groups that form are inclusive, not insular, and that the groups continue to contribute to and participate in the University community as a whole, problems can be avoided. The largest problems develop when groups become closed off and develop a them vs us mentality.
Without mentioning specific groups or individuals, just discussing the concepts, what are your thoughts?
-----Warning: Comments on specific people and/or groups will be removed------
In a lot of other alliances, individual corps can be much smaller, allowing them to form very tightly bound associations within the corporation, and a much looser loyalty tie to the alliance, and a looser one still to the powerblock of which their alliance is a member. This can frequently be seen when corporations stay relatively stable and just switch alliances whenever alliance drama hits. It usually takes significantly more drama to make an established corporation collapse when its alliance collapses, unless it was the central entity of that alliance.
Ivy League alliance is fundamentally just EVE Unversity, with a few support chars (very few) in associated corporations. This alters the normal alliance/corp bond, as the two are interchangable entities. However, it can still be seen to some extent even in E-UNI by the number of pilots who only identify themselves as E-UNI pilots, not IVY pilots.
In the University, this leads to some interesting social dynamics. With 1500 people, we have too large of a community to allow more personality based leadership styles to easily function. Dunbar's number helps explain this to some extent, especially when combined with the global nature of the alliance and the fact that no central leader will ever be equally present in every TZ.
This causes subgroups to form within the University. Sometimes they are groups of friends that share a same TZ, or other groups that share a central activity they enjoy (missions, PVP, wormholes, etc...). Some of the groups are established by the University to organize students (such as ILN battlegroups), while others are formed by the students themselves. However, the University has to insure that all of the subgroups that form are always oriented towards the central goal of the corporation, which is to educate students. This can cause some drama from time to time (see D6 - just an example...love you guys).
In my opinion, any organization of 1500 people will never be able to prevent unoffical groups from forming. Its just trying to stop human nature. People have a much easier time bonding to a close group of friends than to a 1500 person entity organized around an ideal. However, as long as we can insure that the groups that form are inclusive, not insular, and that the groups continue to contribute to and participate in the University community as a whole, problems can be avoided. The largest problems develop when groups become closed off and develop a them vs us mentality.
Without mentioning specific groups or individuals, just discussing the concepts, what are your thoughts?
-----Warning: Comments on specific people and/or groups will be removed------
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Drakes - Suddenly overpowered?
Anyone reading the Eve forums has probably seen mention that CCP is going to be looking at the drake and seeing if it needs to be balanced. We've always known that it was a spectacular mission ship, but only recently has it been used in large number in PVP. CCP seems to be seeing that as signs that it should be nerfed a bit.
However, I completely disagree with their reasoning. Drakes are seeing a lot of use because they function well against AHAC gangs. The sudden proliferation of Zealots didn't seem to make CCP post about Zealots should be nerfed. Drakes just happen to have some characteristics that work well in high-lag situations, such as weird capacitor issues, missiles hitting in huge bursts, and a decent buffer for logis to rep up.
Not too long ago, sniper BS gangs were what everyone was using, and I didn't see anyone complaining that the commonly used sniper BS were overpowered. A few mechanics changed, along with some lag situations, and sniper BS just weren't a good choice anymore. If lag clears up at all, or something else changes, drakes will once again be relegated to a decent PVE ship without CCP intervention.
Nerfing the FOTM this quickly is rather new for CCP, and seems to be strangely applied in the Drake's case. When was the last time you saw a CCP employee posting about nerfing the dramiel, and thats been FOTM and definitively overpowered for its ship class for quite some time.
But don't fear, once CCP nerfs the drake Caldari pilots will still have their great lineup of large-medium fleet ships, such as the .............
However, I completely disagree with their reasoning. Drakes are seeing a lot of use because they function well against AHAC gangs. The sudden proliferation of Zealots didn't seem to make CCP post about Zealots should be nerfed. Drakes just happen to have some characteristics that work well in high-lag situations, such as weird capacitor issues, missiles hitting in huge bursts, and a decent buffer for logis to rep up.
Not too long ago, sniper BS gangs were what everyone was using, and I didn't see anyone complaining that the commonly used sniper BS were overpowered. A few mechanics changed, along with some lag situations, and sniper BS just weren't a good choice anymore. If lag clears up at all, or something else changes, drakes will once again be relegated to a decent PVE ship without CCP intervention.
Nerfing the FOTM this quickly is rather new for CCP, and seems to be strangely applied in the Drake's case. When was the last time you saw a CCP employee posting about nerfing the dramiel, and thats been FOTM and definitively overpowered for its ship class for quite some time.
But don't fear, once CCP nerfs the drake Caldari pilots will still have their great lineup of large-medium fleet ships, such as the .............
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Failure of a Master Plan
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.
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.
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.
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