CrazyKinux's Musing: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Friday Video: Gears of War 3 Ashes to Ashes Trailer [HD]

This lazy console gamer needs to finish Gears of War, buy Gears of War 2 and finish it, before he gets to play this one. And it's not because of lack of liking the game, or wanting to play it.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Science of MMORPGs

I've always been fascinated by science, ever since I was a kid. I've been watching NOVA for over 20 years and am a member of the National Geographic Society. Yes, a Geek I am.

So it'll come to no surprise that the science involved in MMOs is something that's dear to me. Over the years, I've read a number of white paper, case studies, abstracts and other papers on the science of, and, behind MMOs. As such, I wanted to keep track of these and decided to have a place to store the links on this blog. I've only got 2 at this moment, but expect more to be added as I find the ones I've already read and lost, and some new ones!

Leadership in Games and at Work (Seriosity)
Engagement Economy (Institute for the Future)

Halo Reach - Birth of a Spartan Extended Version! (Video)

Will somebody PLEASE make a movie out of this for crying out loud!

[HD version available]

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Did I Miss Anything: The New and Improved CCP Games?

OK, so I know I've been busy these last few days running a few contests and reading a plethora of great entries, but am I the only one who missed the relaunch of CCPGames.com? One developer, three games, three worlds? Check these screen captures and see for yourself the new site!

EVE Online

DUST 514

World of Darkness

Intriguing eh!

Your Favorite Posts on CrazyKinux's Musing are....

A week or so ago, I ran a poll here on CrazyKinux's Musing asking you what your favorite posts were - 52 of you to the time to respond. Thank you kindly.

Not surprisingly these were the results:

EVE Blog Banters (28%)
Guides and Links (25%)
Ship Setups (19%)
General EVE News (17%)
Contests (7%)
EVE Post Cards (1%)
Friday Videos (0%)

So I guess that it's no surprise then that the latest EVE Blog Banter Contest was such a frackin' success! And despite the abysmal 0%, I still plan on doing these non-EVE-related Friday Videos! I enjoy them too much to stop now! :p

Your comments and input is always welcomed by the way!

Steady as she goes Captain - Judgment begins for the Blog Banter Contest

When I initially launched the latest EVE Blog Banter Contest - The Ladies of New Eden - I expected to get roughly the same amount of entries as with previous popular banters - maybe 40. Or maybe even as much as the last Banter Contest which was about 60. But 80 entries? Not in my wildest dreams!

As such, I'm going to need a bit more time to go through all these entries and am pushing the winners announcement up to Friday May 7th, 2010 - tough if I can do it sooner, I will.

To make up for this delay, I've decided to bump up the number of winner to 10. Not only that, but Avalloc, one of the candidates for the 5th Council of Stellar Management, was kind enough to offer 1 Billion ISKs for all 10 winners!

So, to recap the Prizes to be awarded are:

1st Place: $75 in EVE Store merchandise and 100 million ISKs
2nd Place: $50 in EVE Store merchandise and 100 million ISKs
3rd, 4th & 5th Place: $25 in EVE Store merchandise each and 100 million ISKs each
Prizes for 6th to 10th place are 100 million ISKs each

I hope this will make up for the delay, and that you'll bare with me as I ponder on who are the 10 best entries out of those 80 submitted!

Monday, April 26, 2010

EVE Planetary Interaction Beginners Tutorial - by Maeve Trinity

Fellow Drone Bay co-host Maeve Trinity put together this 10min tutorial on the latest build of Tyrannis available on EVE Online's Test Server (aka SiSi). Let her know your thoughts on her original post!

Looks like we're in for a lot of fun!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

CrazyKinux's Speedlinking for the week-end of April 25th, 2010

Another week, another list of what's caught my attention over the last few days. Enjoy the read!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Friday Video (Belated Edition): Lost Planet 2 Lady Pirates Trailer [HD]

Lady Pirates with big bad guns, now this definitely looks fun! I can certainly see myself playing with my daughter in duo, and fragging the shit out of our opponents! Though first, she'll have to grow up a bit; 3 might be a bit young to play this kind of game.

More information:

Thursday, April 22, 2010

For the Ladies of New Eden, and the ones to come - List of Participants

Like that small tiny Vexor beneath that huge gas giant, I've come to realize the monumental task set before me. The list below is only part of all the entries to the Ladies of New Eden contest. And since the contest doesn't end until next Monday, I'll still have a few more to add. Go me!

Some of you did not have the introduction with the links included, or a list of 5 participants for that matter. Both will be needed in order to qualify for the contest! Good luck to all!

The Ladies of New Eden
Is EVE a man's world?
Sorry, No Pink Spaceships Here Please
EVE Blog Banter: Chicks 'N Ships
Eve Blog Banter: The Girls Who Fly Spaceships
It’s not about fluffy bloody Kittens people!
Space Boobies Are Bad, m'kay?
Special Blog Banter: I Like Girls
Special Edition or making Eve More Casual
I wish my wife played EVE
Is there something special about women?
CK's Blog Banter
The Female of the Species
EVE Online Can Appeal to Women By Adding Casual Content
Blog Banter: The Ladies
Women Who Want EVE - Missing intro and participants links
Tech 2 stilettos
New Eden doesn't need to change for Eve – Adam needs to get over himself
EVE Online and… women (sorta)
Think Outside the Spaceship
EVE's monthly banter - Women, women, women
Girls Just Wanna Have... Guns!
Draco Horizons (Blog) - no list of participants
Don’t change Eve for me!
Where Are Teh Laydeez of EVE?
Where Are All The Wenches?
EVEquality: The Rise of the Female Gamer
Women? In MY SPACESHIP? Is she from Mars as well?
Blog Banter: Captain Kirk Hates Eve
The Female of the Species
The Ladies of New Eden
EVE and the X by X Genetic Succession Unit
Sociability V
Girl on Girls in Space
What women want (in Eve)
Time Is On Our Side
Roc Appeal - No links to other entries
Women in EVE
Getting In Touch With Our Feminine Side
It's a woman's world (they just don't know it yet!)
Women in EVE – Can it be done?
You'd Rather Be Playing The Sims, Right?
Blog Banter #17 – Women in Eve
How To Get The Betty’s
EVE: WTB girls?
All about EVE
Ladies to the gunfight
Hell hath no fury
The Ladies of New Eden (An Analysis on How Men are not from Mars, and Women are not from Venus)
EVE Blog Banter 17: The Ladies of New Eden
The Ladies of New Eden
Getting ladies to play Eve Online
Why Don't More Women Play EVE??
Getting Girls to Play EVE
Et Tu, Brutus? » Blog Archive » Girls, Girls, Girls.
Why I don’t play Eve Online | Restokin
Ladies of New Eden | My Blog
The female podling « Ore, Pirates, and Pods
Tinkers Blog: Ladies in Space
Ideas on How To Attract More Female Pilots
Ladies of Eve - Blog Banter
Your agent has ended your mission for not attaining more women - Not enough links to other entries
Let's Fly, Ladies!!
Bringing the Sisters to EVE
EnerlaNET Forums - 52 days of Eve Online
In Search of the Sisters of Eve
EnerlaNET Forums - Be a man! Fight back!
Getting more Eves in Eve Online
Making Bannan Peels Relevant: Gender Inclusiveness in CCP's EVE Online - Withdrew from contest.
Daughters of EVE
Women in Eve
“Prove It”: Women In EvE
It’s Hip To Be Square: Taking Videogames Out of the Basement
The X-Factor
The Ladies of New Eden... A Blog Banter Entry by Cattie
Gal-Ristas!
Question: Tell Me What You Think About This?
Ain’t No Sunshine
What Women Want…
Lady Vengeance, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pew-Pew

If I've forgotten any of you, please let me know!

Monday, April 19, 2010

The EVE Blog Banter Special Edition: The Ladies of New Eden

Welcome to another special installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by myself, CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to me. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

EVE Online, as the saying goes, is probably the most hardcore MMORPG currently available to the gaming masses. Hell, let's be serious it's one a the very few true MASSIVELY MULTI-PLAYER Role-Playing Game out there, and one of a handfull who's seen its subscriber numbers go up since its launch. But gentlemen, we have a problem.

I say gentlemen because, though there are few ladies roaming New Eden, the truth is, there are too few of them. As @Mynxee wrote about in "The Real Sisters of EVE", in a recent issue of EON magazine (issue #018 for those curious souls), EVE is an MMO that is overwhelmingly played by male, and where the female player population hovers at a about 5% of its total subscriber base.

I am one of those who believes that, though the game should not be changed to specifically go after that part of the gaming population, EVE Online would greatly benefit if somehow the balance the 2 genders roaming New Eden would lean towards an equilibrium. So I ask...

What could CCP Games do to attract and maintain a higher percentage of women to the game. Will Incarna do the trick? Can anything else be done in the mean time? Can we the players do our part to share the game we love with our counterparts, with our sisters or daughters, with the Ladies in our lives? What could be added to the game to make it more attractive to them? Should anything be changed? Is the game at fault, or its player base to blame?

I'm not trying to provoke or lay blame on anyone or any group. I'm simply trying to get your neurons and opinions working on finding solutions to this interesting problem we're are faced with. I know you can come up with interesting and innovative ideas. And I'm willing to reward for those...

So I'm looking for the best answers, the best ideas and the best solutions. In return, I would like to offer you $200 in EVE Store coupons as prizes for the best entries. This will be broken up so one winner gets $75, a second gets $50, and the three last winners get $25 each.

The Contest & The Prizes

Write an article letting us know how we could get more Ladies to play EVE and get a chance to win one of these 5 amazing prizes, courtesy of CCP Games!

1st Place: $75 in EVE Store merchandise [and 100 million ISKs]
2nd Place: $50 in EVE Store merchandise [and 100 million ISKs]
3rd, 4th & 5th Place: $25 in EVE Store merchandise each [and 100 million ISKs each]
[Additional prizes for 6th to 10th place: 100 million ISKs each]

The Rules

I'll be judging your articles based on their quality, structure, approach, originality. Other criteria are as follows:

Contest is open from now until Monday, Arpil 26th 11:59:59 PM EDT, 2010
Submit your article (title and URL) in the comments below, before the contest expires. I will be using the date and time of your comment as the time stamp for the contest.
Include at least 5 other participants listed at the bottom of your posts, with links to their entries. (Simply add them as new entries come in)
No offensive or racist language will be allowed.
You will need to link back to this post in your article introduction, as in typical EVE Blog Banter fashion.
The winners will be announced on May 3rd, 2010. [Extended to May 7th, 2010]

As always, I'll be adding a list of participants in a separate article, until the drop date next Monday. Don't worry if your article doesn't appear immediately after you've posted your comment. As long as it's in the comments before the drop date, you'll be entered in the contest.

I'll be waiting anxiously for your submissions and look forward to reading them.

Fly safe!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

CrazyKinux's Speedlinking for the week-end of April 18th, 2010

I use to have these EVE Online Speedlinking posts way back when I had the time to roam the EVE InterTubes. Back then, there wasn't as many blogs to cover, and the information was manageable. Today, it would be a full time job to find, to link to, provide a synopsis of these posts, and still have a life. As such, I've decided to provide a list of some of the most interesting blog posts, articles or videos I find and share them with you as is. They'll still contain some EVE Online material, but they often may not. Think of it as a bookmarking attempt at my interests. I hope you still enjoy!

Off Topic: Who knew playing EVE Online could actually save the world!

OK, I may be pushing it here, but after watching this TED presentation by Jane McGonigal, Director of Game Research & Development at the Institute for the Future, till the end, you'll understand.

Further information on Jane McGonigal and the Institute for the Future:

Friday, April 16, 2010

Friday Video: Crysis 2 GDC 2010 Cryengine 3

Oh, the amazement the future holds is beyond my imagination, but not my desires.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The ever expanding EVE Blogosphere! - Part 5

"The Fools we are, the more fun we have" the old saying goes. Well, we're getting to be a lot of fools these days, and we sure do know how to have fun! As I'm recuperating at home today, I'm taking the time - between much needed naps - to clean out my Gmail Inbox and starred items. Amongst those are request to get blogs added to the EVE Online Blogroll Lovefest.

And so, I'm very happy to be adding the following blogs to the listing:

I've also got one spot open on the EVE Blog Pack! So if you have a blog you think should be in the Pack, or know of one, then please let me know about it!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Tyrannis Planetary Interaction Winners Announcement

Like any good miner looking out for some exotic and pricey minerals in his Covetor, I recently had the difficult tasks of reading through no less than 31 entries to the Tyrannis Planetary Interaction Contest. As always, the EVE Blogging Community did not disappoint. The entries were varied in their content, their approach, their opinion. Some were descriptive, some speculative, some bloggers approached the contest through fiction, other with lists and bullets.

All in all, narrowing it down to just 5 entries was a monumental effort, one which saw me scratching my head for some time, having to drop a few more great entries in order to choose the winners. In the end, the 5 entries below, were as varied in their approach and argumentation as one would expect from a healthy, organic and dynamic blogging community such as EVE Online has. Thanks to all who partook in this contest, and congratulations to the following 5 winners who will receive a PLEX, courtesy of CCP:

As for the lucky winner who will get to interview a CCP Dev during one of The Drone Bay podcast, the honour goes to Cailais of The hydrostatic capsule who wrote the Let the Gods be Gods! entry. Congratulations again are in order!

To all 5 winners, in order to ensure that I'll in touch with the right individuals, I ask that you write a new post in which you mention that you've won the contest, in which you will provide me with an email to reach you at. I'll then confirm your prize through email, at the address you'll have provided.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Off Topic: Carl Erik Rinsch - Remember that name...

OK, this has nothing to do with EVE Online, nor even gaming. But I just couldn't pass the opportunity to share it with you. Actually, since from time to time I want to share some of my most interesting findings from the InterTubes, I thought that an "Off Topic" post series on Sundays would be a great way to do so. Consider this post the first of many.

So, Carl Erik Rinsch. The Ridley Scott protégé came to my attention after this post on Geeks Are Sexy. The short film "The Gift" was part of a brilliant promotional campaign from Philips for their new 21:9 television. See their Philips Cinema site for additional details. To understand the impact Rinsch is soon to have on scifi motion pictures, stop reading and watch the short. You won't regret it!

The Gift

After doing some further research, I realized that this filmmaker had actually caught my eye before. And searching for some of his work, I uncovered these amazing adverts.

Exploit Yourself

Audi A4 2.0 TDI Intelligently Combined

Lincoln "Light Speed"

Now you may ask yourself how an advert filmmaker is going to infuse some much needed new blood in Hollywood's Science Fiction business, consider this: until Ridley Scott decided to take it upon himself, Rinsch was set to make the prequel to Alien. But now, with the success "The Gift" has won, Fox might be reconsidering giving the Alien project back to Rinsch. Until all this studio-political-mombo-jumbo is settled, we can just hope that we'll soon get to see more of Mr. Rinsch's work - on the small screen as well as the big.

Some more reading for your pleasure:

Friday, April 09, 2010

The Drone Bay: Episode 25 - We’re baaaack, no really!

[Direct Download - iTunes - EVE Forums - Drone Bay Blog]

So here I was, sitting at work eating my lunch, when lo and behold as I'm reading emails, I notice a quick blurb by @Crovan in which he mentions that we've got 500 downloads so far. WTF? Downloads as in the new show? Frack!

Once I had calmed down and headed over to The Drone Bay's blog, I saw the entry announcing the new episode! Anyways, let cut to the chase and give you all the links. Enjoy!

Show Notes:
First off, the show has a new host! We have added a fourth chair to our round table, and it is occupied by the lovely and talented Maeve Trinity! Maeve introduces herself and we hope that she’ll stick with us for many shows to come!

For those living under a particularly heavy rock, our own CrazyKinux is a bit of a community icon in EVE Online. Just recently he held the 16th Blog Banter for EVE Online bloggers, and this episode contains a first-look announcement at what is next for the Blog Banter!

The team also discusses Alliance Tournament VIII. Keep tuning in for more details as teams are announced and the days tick closer! For those wondering, Crovan will not be attending the tourney this time around, but urges you to follow it all the same!

Tyrannis is next up on the discussion block with the impact that Planetary Interaction could have not only on industrialism, but also PvP habits and the viability of life in lowsec post-patch.

Without a doubt the most exciting Tyrannis news is how you, the listener, could win a PLEX and a chance to interview a CCP dev right here with us on The Drone Bay! CK has started a contest ending Saturday April 10 at midnight. Details behind the link.

This week also sees the return of Don’t Panic. We made the letters as large and friendly as possible this week, as we are beginning a series on small fleet composition and where you might fit into the roles you and your buddies need to come back home with ships (mostly) intact.

No listener mail this week, as we decided people who wrote to us in the past had hopefully found their answers. If not, email us again! In fact, if you have any ideas, comments, suggestions, or questions, let us know!

We are on the lookout for user segments! Our knowledge only extends so far, and that’s where we need you! We’ve already received word that Mynxee may have some self-recorded segments for us, and that should have you as excited as it has us!

As promised, we have sponsorship details. Do you operate a corp, business, service, or anything else that could use some publicity? Do you like The Drone Bay and want us to run contests with sweet prizes? Well, the best way to do that is to sponsor us! E-mail either the show address or Crovan directly to discuss proposals and details. Sponsorships are ISK-only and we are only keeping it long enough to find clever and fun ways to give it back to the listeners! That could mean PLEX, shiny ships, or a lifetime supply of Marines (I’m looking at you, Maeve)!

Contact Info

Show – dronebay|at|gmailDOTcom (no Twitter, yet!)
Crovan – crovan|at|eve-mailDOTnet, @Crovan
CK – CrazyKinux|at|gmailDOTcom, @CrazyKinux
Alsedrech – Alsedrech|at|gmailDOTcom, @Alsedrech
Maeve – Maeve.Trinity|at|gmailDOTcom, @MaeveTrinity

Websites

The Drone Bay
The Drone Bay Podcast Fan Page (Facebook)
CK’s Blog
Maeve’s Blog
Crovan’s Blog

Friday Video: Mass Effect 2 - Reprisal

My Kind of body armour! Damn that looks awesome!

Bioware's Mass Effect 2 - Videos - Screenshots

Thursday, April 08, 2010

The Return of The Drone Bay - This Time it's for Real!

Recorded late last night, the 25th episode of The Drone Bay marks our return to the EVE Online podcast scene. Better yet, not only are @Crovan, @Alsedrech and I (@CrazyKinux) back together, but we're now privileged to have a new co-host, none other than Blog Pack member @MaeveTrinity from a Wench with a Wrench blog.

Crovan will be working on editing the podcast over the next 2 days, and we're hoping to have it out by mid-day Saturday! I'll have the full show notes available by then, with the links to what we've discussed during the show!

I don't have to tell how excited we all were about getting back together and getting the podcast back on track. The podcast will have its own dedicated blog now, and will be hosted on its own, no longer a part of the Virgin Worlds Podcast Collective. Your iTunes subscription though, should not even notice the change. As for a release calendar, the tentative schedule we've put forth should see a podcast being released every two weeks! Exciting eh!?

Until then, you can always head over to our The Drone Bay Podcast Facebook Fan page, become a fan and partake in the anticipation of our triumphant return!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Tonight We Make Landfall! - Tyrannis Contest Participants

With the deadline to the Tyrannis Contest fast approaching (it's the 10th, midnight!), I thought it would be a good idea to start listing the participants so that both you and I could start reading and picking some favorites so far. So here they are:

One Shot Blog: Tyrannis, by Iamien
Tastes Like Chicken: Tyrannis: A Planetary Interaction Contest, by Kaarbaak
The Hydrostatic Capsule: Let the Gods be Gods, by Cailais
Starfleet Comms: Can I Have a VAT Receipt Please?, by Max Torps
Aggressive Logistics: Tyrannis, by Khan
A Barrel Roll: Planetary Infraction, by Alathus Christensen
Loaded Barrels: Five Thousand Stars, Devil Knows How Many Planets, by Brutus Septimius
No War Too Small...: Planetary Interaction: Nothing Personal, It’s Just Business, by Kail Joric
CrazyKinux's Guest Blog: My thoughts on Tyrannis, Contest Entry, by Cyric Kilbright
Pocket Pairs & Pod Pilots: Planetary Interactive Possibilities, by Diametrix
Garhead: "The Fall", by Garhead
Guns Ablaze: I'm a Lumberjack and I’m OK, by Jager
EVE Tyranus: A grind blend, by Ed
Vissios Altacras Presents: Tyrannis, Planetary Interaction and what (I hope) it means for EVE, by Vissios
Void Burn: Tyrannis Impact Prognosis, by Miroven
Unstable Terrain: Eve Online Planetary Interation Predictions, by Trent
Mike Azariah: Land Rush, by Mike Azariah
Pod On The Run: About Tyrannis, Expectations of an underskilled Jack of all Trades, by LoRDa
Musings of a Casual Industrialist: Planetary Interaction: What does it mean offworld?, by Igor Epocci
Ashireka's Adventures In EVE: Tyrannis Impact, by Ashireka
I am Keith Neilson: Thus Always to Tyrants, by Mandrill
No War Too Small...: Planetary Interaction, by Video Game
A Merry Life and A Short One: Sic Semper Tyrannis, by Hallen Turrek
Khopa Ascetic: Delusions of Tyranny, by Mathew Melnon
A Sebiestor Scholar: Zargyl's Tyrannis, by Zargyl
A Mule in EVE: Ripples of Tyrannis, by Manasi
EVE Illectrocuted: It's Not Just About Planets You Know, by Illectro
.5 or Higher!: Abyssus in Terra, by David E. Talvoces
EnerlaNet: EVE Online Tyrannis, by Enerla
Nestor the Chronicled: Here A World, The A World, by Nestor
CrazyKinux's Guest Blog: Tyrannis: a Planetary Interaction Contest, by Trimutius III

If you want to help promote your entry and get it read and commented, be sure to reply to this EVE Forum thread - with a link to your entry, just like Igor Epocci did!

Sunday, April 04, 2010

EON Issue #018: 2010 - Table of Content

I'm usually pretty quick to post the Table of Contest of the current issue of EON whenever I get them. But somehow, this one slipped through and when I saw that some of us had received issue #019, I was ecstatic, went in to check the EON ToC listing I've put together, only to realize issue #018 was still missing!

This is even more surprising since the 3 lead articles in that particular issue are some of the best writing I've seen so far in EON. You see, all 3 were written by good friends of mine, @Mynxee's "Sisters of EVE", @Zptr's "2010" and @Nyphur's "Combat Evolving". As well as articles by @KirithKodachi and @RocWieler.

For those of you already subscribed, or who've had the chance to flip through one of its issues during Fanfest, you know that EON stands out as one magazine above the rest. While other print publications facing extinction, EON leads the way as an MMO-specific gaming magazine, where members of the community can participate in its creative process!

PAST FORWARD
For the last couple of months all people have been talking about is sovereignty. Sov this. Sov that. Sov the other. Being such an important part of EVE that’s understandable, which is why we’ve devoted much of this issue to this very emotive subject. From a detailed look back at how conquest mechanics have shaped New Eden, to our regular look at the ongoing wars out in 0.0, we go one further and ponder the future of EVE in 2010, starting with the fallout from the Dominion release all the way to what we might see in the expansions over the coming months.

THE REAL SISTERS
It’s been rumoured that females play EVE. Not just pretend ones with female avatars who sound weird on TeamSpeak, but real ones who can do something called ‘multitasking’. Mynxee is one such creature and she’s made it her mission to seek out others of her species to find out what it is about EVE that appeals to them and what their experiences of EVE are like. Meanwhile, two of CCP’s most testosterone-free Devs reveal themselves in the latest series of In Crowd articles.

STAR GUIDES
Even if we do say so ourselves, the role-playing guide in this issue is particularly excellent. Why? Because it cuts to the very essence of what role-playing is and prepares you for a deeper and more satisfying EVE experience, as do our other three guides; to EVEmon, Singularity and jump clones.

FREE POSTER
It seems you guys loved the Caldari Cruisers poster we gave away with issue #016, so we’ve decided to do another one! This time (while stocks last) subscribers will receive a massive 841mm x 594mm wall chart showing all the Amarr Cruiser hulls (Tech I, Tech II and Faction) and how they relate to one another, so that you can spot the cosmetic and functional differences between the common Augoror and the Navy Issue variant with a simple glance. ‘Show Info’ has become a thing of the past, thanks once again to paper technology!

PLUS
New Chronicle: ‘Things Can Only Get better’
Profiles of LFA and Wildly Inappropriate
Postcards from Dominion
Black Ops battleships get the Testflight treatment
Istvaan Shogaatsu and Grr go In Character
All the latest news, and more...

Table of Content - EON 018

Page 6 --- E-ON Upfront (News)
12 ---- Quarterly Alliance Report
18 ---- Postcards from the Edge (Screenshots)
22 ---- In Crowd: Anne Walsh
24 ---- The Real Sisters of EVE, by @Mynxee
31 ---- In Character: GRR
32 ---- Chronicle: Things can only get better, by John Kastronis
38 ---- Alliance Profile: Libertas Fidelitas
43 ---- In Character: Istvaan Shogaatsu
44 ---- Cover Feature: 2010
50 ---- Alliance Profile: Wildly Inappropriate
52 ---- Combat Evolving - Part 1, by @Nyphur
58 ---- Testflight: Back Ops Battleships, by @KirithKodachi
66 ---- In Crowd: Bara Gunnarsdottir
68 ---- Insider's Guide: Jump Clones
70 ---- Insider's Guide: To Role-playing, by @RocWieler
74 ---- Insider's Guide: EVEMON
76 ---- Insider's Guide: Singularity
78 ---- EVE Directory, by Zapatero
80 ---- My 0.02 ISK, by Brother Ersatz
82 ---- Teh Funnies (EVE Humour)

Don't miss the next issue!

EVE Online Postcard for Sunday April 4th, 2010

Fleet warp for a tactical ops in X-7OMU. Screenshot taken by @EdFromSales aka BobFromMarketing, of Morsus Mihi Alliance, hirr Corporation. Used with permission.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Friday Video (Belated Edition): Artificial Paradise, inc.

ARTIFICIAL PARADISE,INC. from Jp Frenay on Vimeo.
Artificial Paradise, Inc is an experimental film anticipating a future where a major corporation has developed an unique software, based on organic virtual reality, which holds all the lost memories of humankind. A user connects to this database of the forgotten…what is he searching for?

Selected at the ONEDOTZERO festival in the WOW+FLUTTER 09 category

Selected for the Autodesk 2009 Siggraph Show Reel

Featured on Stash Issue 61

Realflow Case Study

Production : Condor
Director / editor / compositing : Jean-Paul Frenay
Main 3D artist / compositing : Sandro Paoli
3D artists : Sylvain Jorget and Sébastien Desmet
Additional 3D operators : Otto Heinen and Okke Voerman
Sound Design : Seal Phüric feat. Neptunian8

Friday, April 02, 2010

Tyrannis: a Planetary Interaction Contest - Win a PLEX and a CCP Dev Interview!

Back in early August of 2009, I ran a contest based on "Planetary Control" where I asked you how you saw planetary interaction being implemented within EVE, how it should be approached and what possibilities this would open up to the capsuleers.

Remember, back then DUST 514 was barely a hint and a rumor which some of us had had a glimpse of at Fanfest 2008. The contest had a great turn out with over 15 participants. The winner of the event, @Xiphos83 (yes that's the same guy who had the idea for the Wallpaper contest) got a chance to interview CCP Hammerhead during a special edition of MicroWarpCast. The interview was a success and at lot of fun to put together.

Fast forward to today and Tyrannis, CCP's Planetary Interaction expansion is less than 2 months away. With all the creative juices in full swing within the EVE Blogging Community, this was the right time to focus all this energy once more! And so, I'm pleased to announced another Planetary Interaction Contest!

This contest will require that you use every implant available to you, that you put your thinking caps on and come up with something truly original, beyond what we know about Tyrannis, and look to a bright future for the elite capsuleer population. Let the Gods be Gods!

What we know of Tyrannis so far as been learned through the Dev Blogs of CCP t0rfifrans, of CCP Hammerhead and CCP Chronotis, and some of the interviews that were given (Ten Ton Hammer for example). But we've also gotten a few glimpse for players who've taken peaks on SiSi and have reported back to us!

But I'd like to pick your brains and what some of you can imagine.

Tyrannis will see some new industrial and planetary interaction opportunities like we've never seen before in New Eden. It's a step in linking EVE Online and DUST514 as well. So I need you to write what you believe are the short and/or long term consequences of this development, in terms of the new industrial capacity it presents to players, in terms of the opportunities for pirates, for industrialists, for sovereignty, etc. Surprise us!

Out of all the articles, I'll pick the 5 best, all of which will win a PLEX, courtesy of CCP Games! Out of those 5, one will be randomly picked to interview a CCP Dev who's been working on Tyrannis!

The Rules
Write a blog post on Tyrannis' and its Industrial consequences to EVE, wherever you see them. Submit your article in the comments below between April 3rd 2010 and April 10 2010 (midnight EDT). The winners will be announced by April 17th 2010. The 5 winners will each receive a PLEX and one will be randomly chosen to interview a CCP Dev during an up coming unannounced (as of yet) podcast.

God luck to all and fly safe!

[EVE Forum Thread]

The EVE Online "Action" Wallpaper Contest Winners!

It's also with great pride and honor that we present to you the winners of our first Action Wallpaper Competition! The judging took even more time, much more debate and arguing was put forth, what was left of the blood and tears after choosing the winners of the Scenic Wallpaper Winners were exhausted, and despite the fact that some profanity was definitively thrown back and forth between Nyphur, Xiphos83 and CrazyKinux, they surprisingly remain friends to this day! All kidding aside, here are the winners for the Action Wallpapers.

First Place - Winner of 500M ISK: Arukemos

Second Place - Winner of 200M ISK: Lahlana

Third Place - Winner of 50M ISK: Zach 101

Congrats to all the winners! You'll have the ISK transferd to your account shortly, once I escape the grip of the Jovians who are holding me in a secure location!

The EVE Online "Scenic" Wallpaper Contest Winners!

It's with great pride and honor that we present to you the winners of our first Scenic Wallpaper Competition! The judging took hours, much debate and arguing was put forth, blood and tears were produced and despite the fact that some profanity may have been thrown back and forth between Nyphur, Xiphos83 and CrazyKinux, they remain good friends! All kidding aside, here are the winners for the Scenic Wallpapers. A post on the Action Wallpaper Winners is coming up shortly!

First Place - Winner of 500M ISK: Cle Demaari

Second Place - Winner of 200M ISK: Tom Dreyfus

Third Place - Winner of 50M ISK: Charlotte Munt

Congrats to all the winners! You'll have the ISK transferd to your account shortly, unless I'm captured by the Jovians!

The Top 10 posts of CrazyKinux's Musing - for April 2010

I've been using Google Analytics since May of 2009. Since then, I've been tracking the top posts viewed on this blog. I thought it would be fun and informative to share with you what are the top most viewed article since I've started monitoring the site with Google. Here they are:

Of course the top entry point is the main page. It'll be interesting to see what this Top Ten looks like a year or so from now!

So, what's your most popular post so far?

Thursday, April 01, 2010

How to start an EVE Online Blog

I've been wanting to write this post for sometime now. Over the last few months I've received a number of emails from you, from Mark, Todd, Jamie and a few others, all asking for tips and advice on how to start an EVE Online blog.

The following is an attempt to answer as much as I can about how to start, and most importantly how to maintain, a successful EVE blog. The post is divided in some general advice on starting a blog, tips on writing, building a readership and finally some general advice and great sites that have helped me at the beginning of my EVE blogging career.

As always, please feel free to send me your questions, advice and tips by email or in the comments below!

Starting an EVE Online Blog
First, you'll need to know where to host your blog, and whether you'll host it yourself through a provider, or use an existing platform. There are benefits to both. I have my blog hosted through Blogger's Blogspot service. Others will use the WordPress platform and put up their blog on a hosting service like Lonetrek Hosting or others. Besides Blogger.com or WordPress.com, an other simple yet powerful platform is Podlogs.com - which is specifically geared for EVE Bloggers. In the end, they're all great means to host your blogs. Pick the one you're most comfortable with, depending on your level of geekiness!

Picking a Name
This is something people have either great difficulty doing, or show the most originality. I can't help you very much here, except to tell you to look at the current EVE Blogsphere listing and make sure the name you're leaning towards isn't already taken, or isn't too similar to one that already exists - Adventures..., A Pirates'... or EVE Online... are examples of what to avoid these days.

Picking a Topic
This is fairly easy. All I can say is write about what you want, what makes the game tic for you. If you're a jack of all trades, then write about everything that you dabble and dibble in EVE. If you focus on Production and Manufacturing, or Missioning for example, then please write about that. In the end, it's your blog, and you should do what feels right for you. Your blog might start with a specific focus on a particular aspect of the life of a capsuleer, and overtime, diversify in a multitude of topics. So be it!

Write with Style and Attitude
If you want your blog to stick out and get noticed, you'll need to establish a style that's unique to you. Your blog is your stake in the EVE Blogsphere, you're king of that hill, so make it your own! Don't worry too much about this at the start of your EVE Blogging career, that'll come with time and with posts. Some folks might not like or appreciate the style of Spectre and his blog EVE Newb, but no one can deny that the guy has a style of his own. Find yours!

Be Consistent and Regular
No, I'm not talking about All Bran here! What I am talking about is keeping a consistent regular posting schedule. You might post once a day, or once a week, but whatever it is, stick to it. The worst you can do is not post for two months, then have 12 posts in a period of 3 days. I myself try to post once a day on weekdays. I tend not to post anything on the week-ends (the life of a Gamer Dad makes that very difficult), but sometimes I do. In the end, your readers' appreciation, and your abilities as a writer will only improve if you post on a regular basis. Pick a schedule and stick to it!

Be Active in the EVE Blogging Community
The best way to ensure that your blog gets noticed is to read other EVE bloggers blogs and comment on their post, to write your own posts in answer to theirs. If you've got the time, or can manage the distraction, get a Twitter account, follow the TweetFleet, and tweet your blog posts - using a service like TwitterFeed for example. Being active in the community will ensure that others visit your blog and comment on your posts. Only by giving first, can you receive later. Pay it forward.

Get noticed by the Community
In order to get readership and get people to notice your blog you can do a number of things:

Submit your blog to the Official CCP Community Fansite Listing
Request to get added to

Introduce your blog to the EVE Forums on the My EVE channel
Join the EVE-BLOGGERS channel in-game
Join the CrazyKinux's Musing Facebook Fan page and let us know about your new blog!

Finally...

Some Great Blogs that'll Make You a Better EVE Blogger
Over the last 5 years of blogging, I've come across some very informative and helpful blogs which have allowed me to improve myself as a blogger, as a writer and as an EVE community member. The following list, though not exhaustive, should provide enough reading material and advice to guide you through your path to EVE Blogging Nirvana.

Blogging in general:

Specific Article on Improving your Blogging:

Though the blogs and links above apply to blogging in general and are not specific to blogging about MMOs or even EVE Online for that matter, all have been very useful in my evolution as an EVE Online Blogger. Hopefully they'll also be helpful for you.

In the end, remember that this is all for fun and pleasure! Enjoy!

Updates:

April 19th, 2010: Added Learning to Fly: Learn 2 Blog, by @Arukemos.
July 1st, 2010: Added A Comprehensive Guide to Link Building via Blog Commenting & How To Manage Your Social Media Marketing In 10 Minutes Daily to the list of articles.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Friday, April 16, 2010

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Friday, April 09, 2010

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Friday, April 02, 2010

Thursday, April 01, 2010

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