2024

Back on the Belts (and other stuff)

stargrace April 2, 2024 No Comments

It has been a little over two weeks since I’ve returned to EVE Online, and as I mentioned in a previous post I’ve finally settled into a bit of routine. I try to get a bit of ice mining done first thing, do my dailies, and I re-set my PI. PI is really treating me quite well. I’m not selling the components but instead crafting bits with them which I sell. My hangar was filled with a lot of BPO/BPC so I’ve been working through the backlog and making some ships to sell (when profitable). Looks like I had stocked up on Viator BPs for some reason, I don’t think I intended on flying one (at least I can’t find any mention of it) so I’m crafting those for a few million ISK of profit.

There was some drama in the Jspace version of my corp yesterday, which doesn’t affect me since I live in the Kspace version, but it still didn’t sit very well with me. I’m thinking I might try to find a more pve/industry/exploration aligned home, if one exists. One of the issues I have is that the corp has an open policy on pvp, if it’s not blue/green (alliance/corp mate) then you’re free to attack no questions asked. I prefer a more passive method of gameplay – defense is fine (and encouraged) as well as attacking those with negative standing, but there’s some great kind people out there just doing their thing, and I don’t really like the idea of just being a random asshole simply because they’re not known. I understand that’s a very me mentality, and a lot of EVE is “bully, or be bullied” but it’s just something that has been on my mind. I also don’t really appreciate some of the snide comments from the Jspace corporation towards the Kspace one, like we’re lesser. Again, purely me thoughts on all of this.

I’ve been doing a LOT of exploration this week. I watched a few videos on how to get pathfinder working, and now I’m mapping my way through Eden. I enjoy this a HUGE amount, I found my very first C6 WH! I did not peek inside as it was EOL (end of life), but it was still a neat discovery. Doing this sort of exploration is fun – and sometimes it can be pretty rewarding if I happen to stumble into some relic/data sites. My industry adventures are keeping me well supplied, but I don’t think there are any other ships (at this time at least) that I want to add to my rotation. I’m pretty set for everything I enjoy doing – what I do want to spend a little ISK on are a few more BPO to round out my collection.

Back to exploration – I was scanning down WH yesterday and found one that went from Agal to another high sec, Fabum! When I manually made the path between those two destinations, it was over 40 jumps away, so it was a really neat little shortcut for anyone who may have wanted to head out there. I thought that was a cool discovery. I also learned about some POI (points of interest) that I may want to explore, thanks to Signal Cartel, and TripTik. I love this idea and everything about it, so expect some posts in the future talking about it a lot more.

I think EVE is still the only game I play where I need to have a minimum of 10 browser tabs open at once just to get through my gameplay and I am completely here for it. I have so many spreadsheets, have so many lists and notes and just bits of information I’m trying to retain all over the place. It’s lovely.

As always, happy gaming – no matter where you find yourself.

Industry? Sure!

stargrace March 29, 2024 No Comments

Apparently during one of my (many) breaks from EVE, how BPO work was changed – I don’t remember how it used to work, but now, they’re sold by NPC, and you can sell the BPC through contracts. I have quite a few BPO and BPC just sitting around in my hangar, I know I was making some T2 drones at one point, so that’s what I decided to start with for some pocket change. Then I noticed some of my blueprints were not optimized for time/materials, so I decided to fix that on a few of them. I’m not even sure why I have 14 Nereus blueprints, all I can assume is that I was trying to research them into the T2 version (Why? Was I going to fly one? I have no idea).

I spent a small portion of the morning scanning down WH and hoping I’d stumble into a gas site – but I did not. Not even a relic/data site. I did find quite a few combat sites, so I completed my dailies (two quests to scan down 5 sites, and one to kill 25 NPC) easily enough.

I parked myself in the two ice belts that spawn after downtime, and decided to lay low while happy weekend gamers decided to blow one another up. I learned a little while ago the Tengu was hit with the nerf bat, so I may just keep mine parked (it’s expensive to fit) and figure out what I want to fly next. I’ve got quite a few skills but they’re a bit all over the place. Heavy assault missiles V is what I’m finishing up right now, and then it’s on to the specialization.

I’ve been practicing using Pathfinder to map my way around the universe, but haven’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. It’s supposed to auto-map as I jump, but that function doesn’t seem to work for me, personally. I did learn how to delete old signatures and add new ones, so that’s something at least. I know how to manually add connections, but the auto mapping still eludes me. My EVE folder continues to grow with all of these neat little 3rd party tools, enhancing my already splendid spreadsheet game. I know a lot of folks are preoccupied with flying the most fancy ship they can possibly get into, but slow and steady wins the race, or.. something like that.

As always, happy gaming – no matter where you find yourself.

Organizing All the Things

stargrace March 28, 2024 No Comments

It’s really no big surprise that one of my favourite things to do in EVE is to organize. Whether it’s my ships, their fits, my hangar, or industry – I spend a lot of time sorting through things and organizing them. Last night I decided to focus on the ships. I stripped those I’m not actively using so I could take better inventory of what I have, and I wanted to make sure I had complete fits for those I do use. I know I could just share items between ships but I’m not really a fan of that (plus I end up losing / forgetting things). I’d like each ship to have its use and fit it for that use. I’ve also been thinking more about WHAT ships I’m using, and how expensive they are vs. other ships that might be able to handle the same things that I’m already handling. Especially if I’m going to risk losing that ship. In 3 more days I’ll be able to fly the Tengu again (I can already fly it, but I’m waiting on some weapon skills) but the Gila has been great at handling what I need it to handle and it’s not nearly as expensive when all is said and done. I also have a myrmidon, and the Dominix (which I believe I was going to upgrade to a Sin, I have the blueprints for one, at least). Then there’s a catalyst, and even a tristan rounding things out. I’ve got a prospect I’m hoping to take out gas huffing (finding gas has been a difficult task for me as of late) and there’s the venture, too if I want to go even cheaper.

It’s better for me to practice and learn in these less expensive ships, and then when I feel more confident I can start using the better ones. My EVE tasks are not exactly limited, even by using a less expensive ship, and it should give me some experience and confidence.

Industry is going pretty well, I have lots of drones and ammo for sale each day, and they’re moving even though I’m not selling in Jita (I really didn’t want to make all those jumps just for a handful of ISK, I’d rather sell closer to home). I haven’t managed to get my R&D faction up yet, but I know if I just plug away at it slowly the faction will come. I keep getting distracted by other things in space (like that escalation from yesterday).

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, and fly safe!