Dark Star

Dark Star is a low budget sci-fi film from a very young John Carpenter. The film follows a group of astronauts as they clear the heavens of unstable planets, ahead of the mass colonisation of the galaxy. They encounter many strange things in their quest including an alien that looks remarkably like a beach-ball, and an electrical storm which leads the crew to argue the existence of the universe with a smart-bomb, intent on destroying Dark Star and her crew to full fill its purpose.



An iconic film from a legendary film-maker. Made on a minuscule budget, Dark Star is probably one of the best examples of how a good script and smart ideas can meld together to create a brilliant film, even from the supposedly cash hungry sci-fi stable.

Related Links
Dark Star (DVD)

Pirate Song

Once again The Black Rabbits throw their personal pirate pillaging prose out there for our enjoyment and, of course sing along. Always a pleasure, Ridley Tree. A pirates life for me, Yo ho!



Related Posts
Pirating 101

Related Links
Veto (killboard)
The Black Rabbits (killboard)

Flight of Fancy

Our fat fingertips are privy to a plethora of ships available for literally any purpose. The range of abilities is vast, so too the scale and size of many of these vessels. But for all their unique abilities and sizes, they all have one thing in common; they all fly in exactly the same manor regardless of type, mass or use.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed piloting every sub-capital Amarrian vessel to date, excluding Tech III. In every instance the ships behaved in a very similar fashion. The only differences were the rates of turn and acceleration. A ship such as the Malediction should feel completely different to an Armageddon. This consistency is not desirable and is unrealistic in the approach to different vessels and their capabilities.

Controlling an interceptor at full tilt with the mind is very tricky, involving mass disorganisation as the ship bounces off every perceivable obstacle in the heavens. If a direct control method was used, the capabilities of the ship would, in my opinion, be much enhanced and possibly breed a type of pilot that, at present is lacking in New Eden. Not every pilot these days is happy to navigate with a mind meld. With direct control flight the pilot would have a much greater scope to fly a ship with precision. There may even be some individuals present whom never would’ve considered joining the fray before.

I’m aware that this has been considered a few times and that issues were raised against the ability of the cluster to cope with infinite input from the pilot. This point doesn’t concern me, I’m interested in design, not the restrictions on current technology. We should trust direct control flight to deliver a much more virtual experience, particularly with smaller vessels such as Interceptors. Their very nature is to be flown with flair and skill. Besides, I have an awesome control stick I want to try...

Neeear-rat-at-at-tat!

Related Soundtrack

Humble PIE

One of my earliest ambitions was to enrol within the ranks of the role-playing corporation known as P.I.E. As a corporation they are unsurpassed in their contributions they have made to our global history and traditions, exclusively selecting pilots from the folds of the glorious Amarr race to continue the purity of the Amarr faith.

P.I.E (Preatoria Imperialis Excubitoris) is a corporation designed exclusively for the Amarrian. Founded in 105 EST, they are one of the oldest and most prestigious organisations in New Eden. Their mandate is one of recognition and preservation of the Amarrian way of life. The brass goes so far as to state that any pilot caught flying a non-Amarrian vessel (excluding shuttles) will be subject to disciplinary action and/or dismissal from the corporation. I made preliminary enquiries with their recruitment officer about how far this exclusion on vessels extends; whether my coveted Bhaalgorn would be permitted. Unfortunately they consider the Bhaalgorn a bastardisation of the original hull. This common point of view is meant to uphold the faith these pilots serve.

This response got me thinking however, about the tactical assembly of such an organisation. The very nature of specialisation breeds weaknesses, but as we exist in an assumed balanced universe, nothing is without amendment or accountability. There are some Amarrian ships which don’t use lasers exclusively and combine with natural resistance opposite to the conventional. I trust there is enough variety within the Amarr faction to field a fleet with balance and a broader spectrum of resistance and out-put than is assumed.

With a security rating of -9.8, I was told to improve my status to nominal levels to successfully apply. This is something that is planned, but piracy is a very seductive profession. The time will come when I’d consider redeeming my ways, but in the mean-time I will continue to be an advocate of P.I.E and other role-playing organisations. They enhance our epic landscape with heritage and envelope New Eden with richness and tradition.

Amarr Victor!

Related Links
P.I.E (eve wikipedia)
P.I.E (forum)
P.I.E (eve history)

Related Soundtrack

The Ten Commandments

In every profession there is a code of conduct. Piracy is no exception, although many may be forgiven for assuming that this career doesn’t care much for the rules and regulations that govern lawful society, but even plucky pirates practice politics.

Proving that piracy may be more than groups of thugs whom regularly enjoy blowing stuff up is tough. Although one should suspect that explosions, wealth and laughter at some poor fellows expense are perfectly legitimate reasons why we practice our art.

Code of Conduct Directions

1. I shall kill on sight and ask questions later. This rule is excepted where a ransom opportunity is identified or the target is a member of my owning corporation/alliance/faction. This is excepted where my owning corporation/alliance/faction is NPC.

2. I will distribute any and all assets gained from my activities in any way I deem appropriate.

3. I will maintain a level or professionalism by honouring any verbal and/or written agreement regarding the demise of a selected victim(s) exclusively and/or the destruction of his/her assets with regards to demands set.

4. I will refrain from smack-talk unless the situation requires retort at a level similar or more colourful to that of the abuse offered exclusively by my prey.

5. I endeavour to hunt and eliminate with utmost vigilance, macro-miners where-ever they are identified, including the formation of a method to eliminate macro-miners from Empire space by any means necessary so long as the means are not clearly un-profitable.

6. I will concentrate my attack in full to achieve the objective of destruction with efficiency and without mercy, subject to direction 1.

7. I may assist pilots I identify who are present in low or null security space due to miss-information or miss-direction. I may also assist those pilots whom I identify as within a temporary alliance with myself or my corporation/alliance/faction to achieve a common goal.

8. I will maintain a secure and stable connection to my POD in the face of hostile forces and/or my certain demise.

9. I will serve my corporation/alliance/faction exclusively by passing on intelligence to my corporation/alliance/faction regarding enemy movements within the space occupied by their infrastructure. This direction is compulsory whilst enrolled within a factional warfare and/or in a state of war. This direction does not require me to obey the laws of said corporation/alliance/faction.

10. I shall operate under the guidance of personal morality and by any or all means available and answer only to my conscience.

Happy hunting...

Anger Management

Don't despair when everything you've worked towards and all that you are is reduced to ashes at the mercy of piracy. When this happens there's only one course of action: REVENGE.

Unfortunately revenge involves finding, trapping and eliminating those whom robbed you of your self worth. This is usually very difficult meaning that your defenceless POD must be held accountable for your own shortcomings.

But don't destroy your POD, instead vent upon this POD pounding tool to spare you of expensive repair bills.

Aaargh!

The Most Precious Element...

...in New Eden is time, and it's evil twin; timing. Like a killing antic, combat relies heavily on timing. Capitilised correctly, one can trap an unsure pilot and rescue them from the burden of ownership, or it can alleviate one from the clutches of a hostile blockade, or even prevent the loss of life through quick and decisive conclusions born from the fountain of experience. In this galaxy of infinite violence and scintillating opportunities there's never enough of this commodity; time. As dwellers of a linear existence we all become victims of this cruel mistress; the constant tick tock of time against our will. Maxmising it's affects is king to a common goal of leading prosperous and productive lives in New Eden.

Mechanics may be equally important; a worthy tank or gank set-up goes a long way toward ensuring survivability against a foe, but both elements simply buy time to be used wisely during the art of combat. Wasting time during combat will almost certainly spell ones doom unless ones tank can provide an endless flow of time through hit-points. Some may argue that intelligence is key to victory, that is; intel, and not ones IQ, although this must also be of a minimal level. Even with all the intel in the galaxy at ones fingertips it could still be possible to become a victim if against skilled pilots. With time on ones side it's possible to avoid many harsh situations and with correct timing, opportunities can come quick and aplenty.

I don't believe in luck, I attempt to create my own. This has fabricated mixed results, as I cannot prevent events which appear to conspire to rid me of my fake fortune. So I put it to you; maintain your concentration, be wary of your position and never waste time whilst employed in the terminal altercation of deep space combat or you will fail, epically.

Happy hunting...

Related Soundtrack

Defender - Arcade

Probably one of the hardest games I ever played; Defender(arcade) managed to swallow vast sums of my hard-given pocket money back in the day.



Defender is a game of a clutter of cats versus a lonely mouse protecting the planet's population from alien abductions. Addictive and truly groundbreaking when it was released in 1980, Defender is one of the best all-time retro experiences, and shows just how difficult games used to be before the age of the tutorial or the modern hint.

Galactic Colonization

With the advent of planetary interaction and rescource management imminent, cut your teeth on this training program assembled by a Minmatar think tank.