Mythbusters: More Scan Probes

It’s the activity we do the most. It’s also the most dreary, boring, lackluster activity you can do in game. And we do it, all the time. We don’t have a choice really. If we want to know what’s out there, or we want to know where the exit is, or if we just want to know where that Hulk is stupidly mining, scanning is a necessary evil that we have to put up with. So of course, one starts trying to figure out how to make said dreary activity faster so they can get back on with the fun stuff.

The majority of us get by with a standard 5 or 4 probe setup. A few patches ago, CCP “unlocked” the other probes allowing for more probes to contribute to signal strength. But does it matter? Do more probes actually increase the speed of scanning, or does the hassle of dealing with more probes actually take longer to deal with?

Time for a little Mythbusters, Sleepless in Space style.

What's that smell...

Cyno-oh Baby!

She may be ugly kid, but she's got it where it counts.  I made a lot of "special modifications" to her myself.

A while back Kirith Kodachi asked for some wormhole fits for the new issue of EON magazine.  I submitted 3 fits that I had lying about with explanations.  He seemed impressed, but due to space concerns he only picked one.  For those of you that have the magazine, you know that my overpowered Tengu fit was the one he picked for EON.   If you don't, I suggested you pick it up.  There is some pretty good wormhole information in there, especially for those of you new to wormholes.

One of the fits he didn't list was my (as he described it) hit-and-run Cynabal.  As one of the fastest (if not the fastest) cruiser hulls in the game, the Cynabal has the advantage of range dictation.  This is similar to the Dramiel, although the Cynabal has a bit more HP for buffer in case a mistake is made.  With its damage and falloff bonus to autocannons, the Cynabal can spit out some impressive damage at impressive range.  Combined with its speed, the Cynabal is virtually unmatched among cruiser hulls.  However, it's an advantage you have to pay for, as the Cynabal clocks in as the most expensive T1 cruiser hull you can fly.

The Death of a Legend

After five seasons, Jade and Jayne are calling it quits.

Again.

To be fair, I think this one is for keeps.  Last time they "quit" the community rallied around them and they decided to give it one more go.  This time I feel its a bit more permanent.  Jade left a post on the Lost In Eve website explaining his decision.  In it, he explained that he had come down with a nasty fever that just wouldn't let go.

I'm certain juggling a full time job, kids, wife, Eve, and oh yeah the podcast where him and Jayne were for all intents and purposes on opposite sides of the world didn't help.  But now he's looking at surgery, and he just doesn't have time anymore.  For not just Lost in Eve but Eve Online as well.  He's unsubbed his accounts.

Jade I salute you sir.  o7

The Lost in Eve podcast was a staple for many of us, especially those of us in wormholes.  While we chuckled at Jade's buzzard story, we cheered as he got his revenge.  We rolled our eyes at Jayne, who sounded every bit like a typical American on every show.  But for the most part we listened.  And sometimes we learned something.  And sometimes we shouted at the radio when they were getting something wrong.  And sometimes we just enjoyed the banter.

Thank you Jade, Jayne for 5 seasons of content.  Thank you Jade, for allow this humble blogger when he was virtually unknown to appear on your podcast.  I was and still am honored for the privilege.  I apologize for not being more available so we could have worked on the future segment.

There are things more important then Eve and a podcast.  If you don't have your health, you don't have anything.  Get well soon Jade, and good luck on your surgery.  You will be missed.

Sticks and Shenanigans (Blog Banter #28)

In recent months, the relationship between CCP and its customers has been the subject of some controversy. The player-elected Council of Stellar Management has played a key role in these events, but not for the first time they are finding CCP difficult to deal with. What effect will CCP’s recent strategies have on the future of EVE Online and its player-base? What part can and should the CSM play in shaping that future? How best can EVE Online’s continued health and growth be assured?

This set of questions set forth by the new overlord of the blog banter comes at a fortuitous time. I was actually going to write a piece about this as my next post. As you notice, I did not post anything last week, as I was hoping the minutes regarding CSM’s emergency meeting would have been released by now. Sadly, this is not the case and we seem to have inadvertently been reset on course for the very disaster we narrowly avoided a few months ago.

First some background, for those of you living in a WH for so long you don’t get out into K-Space much. As most of you know by now or have heard, CCP hasn’t been the best when coming through with communication to the players. And by communication I mean actual meaningful conversation. The kind of conversation your girlfriend wants to have with you before you blow her off to play EVE. In fact, CCP even pledged to do better in this regard.

However, someone at CCP forgot to toss that skill in the Que. We haven’t been getting any communication from CCP, more like communiqués that tell us what they think they want us to hear. And worse, our only link with CCP, the CSM, has gone deceptively silent.

Well, until now.