EVE

The End of My EVEOnline Blog Posts? #EVEOnline

stargrace June 16, 2011 12Comments

There’s an interesting Devblog post up on EVE that states that CCP is going to charge people $99 a year for the use of applications or services which uses the EVE online Intellectual Property (such as the screen shot I have above) – if you’re making money (or attempting to make money) from where those intellectual property things are. Let me explain better – see that donate icon I have on the right hand side of my site? Yep. That counts. Even though I have never ever gotten a donation from having it there. Notice how I also have google ads on nomadicgamer.com because they are there by default with wordpress? That counts. Even though I don’t see a lick of anything that gets made from google ads.

Needless to say I have a few thoughts about this. Number one, if EVE thinks they can do a better job at promoting their game then the small bloggers and MMO sites out there – then kudos to them. I think they’ve forgotten that a lot of these people who are running ads on sites are their fan base, and word of mouth is a powerful thing. I can understand why they may be thinking this is the best plan of action with things like iOS and android apps that are hitting the market requiring payments – but EVE has allowed players to access their character information without cost from 3rd party apps (EVEmon?) for years now, and if those 3rd party apps are accepting donations I don’t see what the big deal is – and I certainly don’t feel that they should be charged $99 a year to keep those apps running to the public. Here is the part of the post that irked me the most:

• Will corporation and alliance websites require a commercial license?
• No, private websites do not need a license. However, if you have an external facing part of the website that uses the EVE IP you will require a non-commercial or a commercial license, depending on your use.
• Will services for in-game currency require a commercial license?
• Yes, if you require any sort of payment for your services you will need a commercial license.
• Will website ads require a commercial license?
• Yes, for ad-supported websites you will require a commercial license.
• Will donations require a commercial license?
• Yes, for donation supported websites you will require a commercial license.
• Will I be able to charge real life currency for in game services?
• No, the commercial license does not allow you to charge real life money for any in-game services.

I certainly will NOT be paying $99 a year to make blog posts about the game and include a screen shot here and there simple because I have a donation button. I’m going to retaliate (small time blogger that I am) by not writing about their game at all when this goes live, and they can deal with that instead. I realize I could simply remove any intellectual property of theirs I may have, but as one of the little guys, I have very few options presented to me on ways I can ‘fight back’ when I don’t agree with their decisions.

** Lets say that even though screen shots are considered intellectual property, I am not personally affected – but – you know who is? EVEMon, who I use daily, Battleclinic, who I also use daily, and numerous other 3rd party apps who accept donations of ISK or cash. This is going to hurt ALL of them. If you have an OPTIONAL donation addition to your project, and you use the API or any other intellectual property, you will be affected. There are 28 (at this moment) pages of comments from developers and fans alike, who are trying to speak out against this. **

What are your thoughts about this new ‘service’ being implemented? Be sure to check out the dev blog write up for all the details. They HAVE mentioned that due to comments they will certainly reconsider some things if required, so be sure to make your voice heard.

Weekly Trip to Jita #EVEOnline

stargrace June 9, 2011 5Comments

Ah, Jita. 15 jumps away from headquarters, and well out of the way of my regular travel paths. I head there once a week to sell goods from PI as well as my supply of manufactured bits. I’m always astounded by the number of people who are there no matter what time of day I happen to show up, and of course public channels are filled with everything from scams to sales of every shape and size. Jita is the major trade hub in EVE and represents a city just as much as any other game has. I fly all of the way out there because it’s where I typically get the best prices for my goods. I could stay in my neck of the woods and visit Dodixie but the prices there are slightly under what I get in Jita making the 30 jump round trip worth it.

I loaded my Orca up to make the trip, because it has the ability to hold the most stuff. I’ve taken my Dominix out for a spin or two but nothing heavy until I can get it fit properly (and yes, pkudude99 the dominix is a very small ship compared to – well, compared to everything really, especially compared to the orca). As soon as I get a little more training done I’ll upgrade some pieces on my current fit and start working on gathering faction again. I’d like to be able to work with another R&D agent, and raise my standings with those I am already working with. Earning more RP is always a good thing.

PI seems to be moving along nicely. Coolant is selling well (it’s used in a number of things including fuel for POS) and I’ve been making a few other materials to sell. It would be nice if I were making enough ISK to purchase some PLEX to cover my subscription, but in order for that to happen I’d have to be playing EVE full time – which I’m not. In fact I don’t really play any one game ‘full time’ as it were.

I’ve got (at the time of this post) 1 day and 12 hours left on my small hybrid turret V and that will make the 23rd skill I’ve got at skill level V. I’m nearing the 15,000,000 SP mark, which is pretty neat. I’ll have to upgrade my clone soon, as my limit is 15,700,000 SP. Next after small hybrid turrets it’s time to work on small blaster specialization, which will take a little while. Then I’m moving on to heavy drone operation. The list of skills one can work on in EVE is never ending – which is something I really like. In fact I really like the whole “no levels to gain” aspect of the game, and the fact that you don’t need to be any particular level to do any ‘sphere’ within the game. Doing the tutorials is often enough to get started although it does help to have friends who can help you out with ships and supplies.

A brief little blurb about DUST which I saw some video on at E3 – I’m excited about it. No, not because I’m a big FPS fan, but because of the implications that come with having a game that interacts with EVE – I’m assuming (because I honestly don’t know many details yet besides the video that I saw) that I will be able to craft and create supplies that those people playing DUST will be able to use (ie: guns, ground vehicles, etc) and that will mean a lot of extra cash for me. I’m excited about it. I don’t know how else the two games will interact with one another, but I think it will be quite neat. I know there are a lot of people who are upset that it’s a PS3 exclusive, but CCP knows their company and their games pretty well. If it’s a PS3 exclusive, I’m betting they have their reasons for it and yes, I do own a PS3 so chances are even though I’m not exactly a FPS fan (at all) I will probably give it a try.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Reactivate? Sure, Why Not. #EveOnline #Tweetfleet

stargrace June 3, 2011 2Comments

When I got the email about being able to reactivate my (two) EVE accounts for five days, and then being able to purchase a 60 day sub for $19 – I tried to hold off, I really did. It’s pretty common knowledge that EVE is the one non-fantasy MMO that I enjoy an enormous amount, and the only space orientated MMO that I’ve managed to stick with for whatever reason. I closed my account not too long ago, deciding that I simply wasn’t investing enough time into the actual game. I still don’t have a large amount of time but I have been managing things slightly better, and the appeal of flying my Orcca around once again was too strong to resist. So I activated for the five free days before they expired, and then I subscribed for the next two months.

It felt good to be back. Really good. The first thing I did was take a look at my PI stations (planetary interaction) and curse myself for not having switched over to the latest method. One of my stations used the new extractors, but the other four did not. I spent some time dismantling old extractors and then placing new ones and routing my supplies to their proper locations as well as checking my storage facilities to ensure nothing was over flowing in my absence. Then I headed to my two R&D (research and development) agents, picked up their much neglected missions, and purchased all of the data cores that I had earned RP for (there were a lot) in by absence. When I had left I had a fairly steady production of Hammerhead II’s going on, but I’m a bit short in supplies at the moment so I plan on restocking and then getting back into production. Crafting in EVE is one of the highlights of the game for me personally, and besides that and working on factions it’s probably how I spend most of my time.

As far as my skill queue goes, I don’t quite remember what I was working on. I’m flying an Orcca which I adore, but I believe I was training this account to better outfit my Dominix which is a fantastic little ship for doing missions. I had a dominix plan saved in EVEMon so I picked up with that. I can already fly the dominix so I’m pretty sure the plan I’ve got currently is just to increase my skills and to fit it properly. I should have an easier time with missions (hopefully) since I’ve been spending most of my time working on mining.

The temptation to start up my second account is very strong, since then I could use my Orcca to haul around ore that the 2nd account is mining. For now I’m going to resist temptation though. One account really should be plenty. Should be.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!