Is It Botting/Macroing?

Reading Jita Local is bad for you, I agree. But?

I clicked on the link in local and read:

So, if the account is set up to sell things while he is at work, and it is spamming in Jita, does that mean it is a macro done to spam? The contracts do not need anyone to be at the computer to fill. However, the advertising does. Plus, it's a series of scam contracts on a throw away account.

I find myself looking at these things due to the constant accusations of bot spamming in Jita local and the return that it isn't that bad as well as the simple fact that CCP has to prioritize.

Through Rose Tinted Monocles

There are many opinions on what it is to be a pirate in Eve. Many people, looking at it from the outside, seem to create a romanticized version wrapped around their knowledge of pirates in history. Even among those who align themselves as pirate in Eve their defines of who and what they are will vary from group to group and culture to culture. If one were to stick to a true definition of piracy most of us would not fit this mold.

I would not be a Pirate Queen in that mold.

But, Eve is about forging your own world and your own identity. It is about picking up someone's box and smashing them across the head with it as you walk from the room wearing white before Memorial Day. It is about owning the label like you own a pimp cane. With swagger and style.

It is true, however, that many of the pirate corps are not so much pirate. We will pirate but we are more creatures of low social morals when it comes to the destruction of other's property in game. The hunt and the kill are reward enough more often than not. There are times when the kill is just for the kill and no other reason is calculated.

It was with puzzled interest, that I noticed someone comment in 7-2's public channel about a freighter to gank. I checked the name, which was unfamiliar and found it to be one of the locals that we sometimes fight and who always seem to bait and blob. They are a high sec group, or at least they live on the island and venture into their local low sec similar to the way you find a good deal on Craig's List and find yourself venturing into that part of town you wouldn't live in but don't mind slipping in for a sale or two.

Freighter ganking is a pastimes  It requires some planning and some logistics to accomplish  It is a game of numbers. So many people. So much DPS. So and so selection of ships. This much time. This much ISK. I was not paying that much attention to the conversation but I decided to barge in when the topic of the freighter came up. It seemed that he had a war dec against the pilot and I wanted to know why he was attempting to entice the negative sec status populous to gank the freighter.

My smooth conversation skills soon netted the answer. It seemed that the freighter pilot was the alt of the person they were war deced with. They were exchanging smack talk and delaying him while they attempted to find someone to gank them. Since their corporation did not believe in untoward aggression they decided that the local pirate groups would fall over themselves to gank a freighter. He seemed puzzled when we were not interested. And, is it okay to (try to) convince someone else to do the thing you cannot do for moral reasons?

I asked how much loot the freighter had in it. He didn't know. It was suggested that he ship scan the freighter and try to entice people with the possibility of loot. Also, payment was acceptable as well. He didn't like those answers much.

We didn't gank the freighter. No one cared and we were doing other things. His confusion at our lack of care is what I found the most interesting. He assumed, because we are what is labeled as pirates, that we would come running when a target was dangled in front of us. He even posted one of the killmails from the last time 7-2 went freighter ganking. Our lack of interest and moderate trolling seemed to confuse him.

He also didn't like my ISK breakdown over how much it might cost us to gank the freighter.

Some bemoan the passing of pirates of old Eve. Those who spent their time stalking and ransoming vs hunting and killing. I wasn't around for those times. These days killing something and getting out before someone else comes along leads to fast, violent conflicts. Ransoms still happens but they are not often the norm anymore. The romanticized version of piracy is not the one that I experience each day. I wonder what they think we do. What they think we say. Do they wonder what our yarrs per minute are in the average conversation?

It is easy to forget that this is only one culture of many. That others log in to a game that is vastly different from my own. There are huge cultural gulfs of understanding between groups. Random assumptions based upon rumors and the briefest bit of exposure combined. But we all play the same game in our different ways. One world. Thousands of people. An untold number of yarrs per minute. Because, after all, I'm sure everyone yarrs at least a little bit. No?

Rawrcats Take to the Skies

My high tech Rawrcat doctrine is set for Saturday evening, Eve time. For those that have mailed me that they want to come they need to toss me an Eve Mail in game. Also for the time.

All of the Jaguar's are T2 fit. If you need something changed out I need to know. Although, the store is always stocked :D.  Ships are free. If anyone wants to donate back that's welcome but not required. Hopefully TCS does well and can sponsor the next one. Perhaps I shall have to petition CCP for a new ship, Cougar.

Random stuff (not wolves) are pretty much welcome but its a shield concept and its not a welp fleet. Its a death of 1000 scratches fleet. It is a fleet of destruction meowing across the skies. Its the screaming kitty fire of death.

I think I advise to not have a shiny clone in in case we have to take it to null to find something.

In Molden Heath; We Fight

I didn't think I'd wind up writing about Dust 514. And perhaps, I am not. Yet, I feel that I am. It still puzzles me a bit but I am slowly accepting the change for what it is and what that is, is interesting. It is odd to see my own writing topics change. I would not have thought, even a month ago, that I'd be writing about Dust 514, a first person console shooter.

The first day of Planetary Conquest resulted in me coming home from work to hear that there was an Eve Uni blob of 70 some in a system. 7-2 had just undocked a smart-bombing battleship and landed in the middle of it to try to kill some of them. With only a few people on they were mostly amusing themselves and losing some ships in the process. It seems that Eve Uni has declared Hedaleolfarber as their low sec home.

I logged in and made my way over to try to assist. It is a different type of fighting. Various groups are moving in and out. Some want to fight. Some do not. I'm buzzing around in my Jaguar trying to be useful and get into the groove of things.

However, once time deepened into America prime time  it kicked into full swing and everyone started to log in for the evening. We had figured out how to set up the beacons for the districts and some had done enough reading to update others. With overviews reconfigured we started pouncing upon the gangs coming in to assist their Dust corporations.

New vocabulary has flared into existence inside of our fleet.  "District 1 active" means something.  "Close the district" is a new thing involving a different reason to set up various tacticals  We're buzzing around systems and engaging where we can. Some groups are large and well organized  Others are trying to slip in and assist their people fighting. We can't see the Dust side of things. We don't know where the fights are happening and what systems are active. We wound up engaging one group in a discussion after we chased them off the field asking if there were battles on the planets.

For hours we ran around Molden Heath attacking various groups. We had no need to sit still and defend the orbitals. I, in my Jaguar, had a splendid time running sniper defense. My goal isn't to get on all of the killmails. I often miss out on many of them. My goal is to keep our Tier3s alive. Altaen called out that he was tackled and I landed on him to grab the Malediction that had him pointed. We were well away from the rest of their fleet and I was able to break Altaen loose and the Malediction went down.

We can bring in a full fleet comp as well. The districts are not restricted grids. Everything goes with no gate or station guns. We can bring interceptors and recons to the field. Cynos are a go. Hot drops will be incoming from all sides in these things.

And what says that indeed, day one, we did a good job killing all the things:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ********

Sent: 2013.05.17 02:11

To: James Ogeko,  

was providing OB for Dust... it would of been cool if you came 5 minutes later but god damn it >:(

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 I don't see this as rage or tears. In fact, the emoticon at the end says to me that it is in good humor. But it was a lovely little assurance that indeed, we were doing the right thing. Low Sec is infested by pirates and small gang PvP. We're not going to just ignore ships in space. The tie into Dust 514 fascinates me.

Yes, Dust players, some Molden Heath Pirates denied you your orbital strike. I don't know who you are nor do you know who I am. We do not even fight on opposite sides of the same conflict. But know, that as you spewed fire and flames on the ground the sky above you was shattered with balls of exploding energy as spaceships battled and your support burned.

Murmurs are that some merc corps are going to come down in mass and lock down Molden Heath down.  What is it with people wanting to come to the region and lock it down? I'm not sure what they are locking it down for. It seems that it'd be hard with there being no bubbles, tons of stations, lots of entrances and exits, multiple temperate planets and other large groups who want systems as well. What do I know? If a blob really wants to sit on a station so that I don't undock they are more than welcome to. It seems rather boring but I don't know what entertains people. I'd be endlessly amused if that is what they devoted their game time to. They'd be denying me play time while I denied them playtime. Fun stuff. Maybe the big fleets can clash with the other big fleets and they can keep each other entertained. So far random groups have appeared and 'moved in' and 'claimed' systems which seems to involve blobing undocks and playing station games when they have numbers.

I expect that I'll be losing a lot more ships in the upcoming future. I can taste the change in the air. I'm finding myself faced with more small ships. It's tackle vs tackle now and that is new for me. On one side I wallow in worrying and fretting but that is something that is best left for the time to do it. I no longer have that time. These fights need to be taken as they are there. The fight fought and the lessons learned from the outcome.  The fights are longer and the focus is different. It is a situation where the killboard does not tell much of the story. I may only get on one kill out of 3 or 4 because my job is not to whore on all the kills. My job is to keep my T3s alive and not run away from them to try to get into range to shoot other things.

Sometimes, things just won't work out. I'm always frustrated when people rage out a bit when the situation doesn't go down well. It happens. Every day is not perfect. Every fight does not go as we wish. It especially happens when we are facing larger numbers constantly. We are going to die more. Losing ships is the price of doing business. But its business we are out there doing. We don't have the numbers the announce a 'shut down'. We never have. Numbers do matter but they are not the be all and end all of everything. Not in low sec at least. It has always harbored the social individual. I believe that it still can.

I don't know how this will end. I suspect things will cool a bit after the land rush. I'm curious as to how many of the groups can truly dedicate their Eve corporations and alliances to Molden Heath permanently.  Are they invested in low sec and the mechanics that come with it or just playing in Dust because it is something new? Those of us here are here because we wish to be. We've chosen low sec as the region of space that sings to us. It has its pros and it has its cons but it is the place that we love. We stay here because we want to be here. Not because we cannot go elsewhere but because we love where we are.

Origin of a Spaceship: Naga

Excerpt from: Origin of a Spaceship

Naga

• a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology
• a sniping, domesticated battlecruiser

Background

The Naga is a new addition to the New Eden star cluster. Unlike many of the spaceships that have been domesticated over the centuries, the Naga is a fully domesticated spaceship bred into existence deep inside the shipyards off the Caldari State. These ships were bred for a singular purpose upon the Caldari battlefield.

However, their highly specialized nature caused a high casualty rate at first, almost wiping out the breeding program. Fortunately, a railgun specialist was located and the focus changed to work upon the Rokh genetic material as the base platform to good success.

Points of Interest

The Naga is a sleek, specialized battlecruiser bred for ranged combat. These spaceships do poorly in the wild and attempts to introduce them into psudo-domestication has failed.

Created with a hybridization of the Rokh and Rifter, the Naga has been developed with large turrets. It retains the split hull exoskeleton, a distinct trait gained from the Rifter, but maintains the sociability of the Rokh. However, attempts at retaining the gracefulness of the Rifter have failed, leaving the Naga slower than anticipated although swifter than other Caldari spaceships. This does not remove from the spaceships use in fleets but was a low blow for the Corporate Police Force Shipyards that bred this exotic beast.

Observations

While an effective machine in fleets, the Naga does not function well as a solitary creature. They tend to be nervous and skittish when alone. Also, due to their innate fragility in combating smaller ships, Naga are terrified of frigates and will often bolt from the field in a panic when confronted with one.

Pilots that specialize with this spaceship are known for their patience. Early introduction to frigates is a must when raising a spawn of Naga. Their social nature causes them to absorb into fleet social structure easily and their relative good nature and desire to please makes them easy to work with in large groups.

See also:

Rifter

Rokh

Origin of a Spaceship: Megathron

Excerpt from: Origin of a Spaceship

Megathron

• An aggressive, predatory battleship
• One of the known descendants of the Mitochondrial Rifter

Background

Often seen in the wild, the Megathron is a formidable, predatory battleship known for its solitary ways. Unlike battleships, such as the Rokh, the Megathron is well known to seek its own company despite highly developed, observed social behaviors.

Found on the very edges of the Gallente Federation’s Connection the to Minmatar Federation, the Megathron was slow to adapt to captivity. A voracious hunter of great appetite and power it is rarely houses in social, fleet hangars.

Points of Interest

The Megathron is one of the true, focused brawling battleships. A fierce hunter, this spaceship tends to roar into the hunt. Often, its sheer presence holds its prey spellbound as it sprints across the distance to tackle its prey.

Megathrons are often seen displaying themselves in loud, vicious one on one combat. These exhibitions of combat appear to be loosely connected to mating rituals. However, it is to note that they will not limit this combat to just themselves but will display and attack other ships of all sizes. While capable of social interactions, most Magathrons appear to prefer to be the only one of their species on the field at any given moment.

Once domesticated, these spaceships are fiercely loyal to pilot and fleet. They will be first into battle and the last to leave a field often to the distress of their pilot.

Observations

It is well believed that the comparative ability of the Megathron compared to other, Genus members such as the Dominix is a biological inheritance to the Rifter. Due to mitochondrial studies in the exoskeleton of the Megathron, it appears that at some point there was interbreeding between Minmatar and Gallente spaceships.

From the age of the sequences, it appears that this was far enough in its history to leave residual markings on the Megathron. These are most commonly seen in its split hull exoskeleton, abnormal agility, and fierce fighting abilities. The Megathron appears to have interbreed cleanly back to the Gallente Family showing a distinct natural exhibition of blaster platforms and a high social communication with drone colonies. Also, it lacks the distinct, rough edged camouflage of the Minmatar family, sporting a more organic, greenness.

See also:

Rifter

Origin of a Spaceship: Rifter

Excerpt from: Origin of a Spaceship

Rifter

• a small, powerful frigate
• the Mitochondrial Eve of several species of spaceships

Background

The Rifter has been identified as one of the oldest spaceships in New Eden. A tenacious creature, the Rifter is a well seasoned hunter. They were first discovered when swarms destroyed a few, early exploration ships. However, due to their high degree of intelligence and innate social nature they have proven to be easy to tame.

Observations

Spaceships of high levels of aggression, Rifters have proliferated throughout the entirety of New Eden. Although they possess all of the characteristics and genetic sequences of other Family Minmatar ships, Rifters are known wanderers. Pack of them can be seen across New Eden where their dark, rust tinted hulls sink into the shadows cast by the various nebula.

Highly prolific, Rifter spawn with apparent ease. Their offspring are capable from birth and packs of young Rifters, at times called Rifterlings, are known to be highly aggressive and willing to prey upon much larger spaceships to satiate their needs.

More common outside of the highly domesticated areas of Empire space, Rifters are highly adaptable spaceships. They can be solitary hunters or work inside larger fleets. Their high degree of intelligence has created complex social structures with other, more fleet focused spaceships.

Points of Interest

The Rifter’s exoskeletal structure is structurally unique. Fossil records in asteroids and on planets can trace the Rifter as one of the first, highly functioning spaceship. It has retained its basic structure for a millennia, breeding and spreading throughout the cluster.

Mitochondrial evidence suggests that the Rifter has crossbred into other species of spaceships. Most notable is the Megatron, a ship that retains the classic skeletal structure of the Rifter. DNA analysis of captured Naga also show a mitochondrial trail that traces back to the Rifter’s basic structure.

See also:

Megathron

Naga