The Importance of Being Ruthless

New Eden does not love you. New Eden is a psychopathic, amoral menace which constantly gnaws at your integrity and resolve. I particularly relish upholding an evil persona throughout my lives in line with mother natures’ intent.

However, feelings of remorse tend to creep in whenever deciding the fate of prey. This is more acute where the trapped pilot is clearly out of their depth. I remember hitting a target with a snipe, only to see the ship explode from the second square volley. This surprised me as much as them, but this ‘accident’ reinforced the ruthless nature of the void leaving me with no time to discuss terms.

With fear as an ally there is much that can be accomplished but, while using fear it’s critical not to become seduced by the darkness completely. Respect is difficult to earn and honour is for militant morons. Criminal life is much more colourful and brings its own unique traits. There is honour amongst thieves, or kindness from killers, but this is rare as the basic nature of piracy is to be feared, loathed and avoided.

There is no room for mercy in this profession. Without a strong resolve our victims would not experience the terror necessary to persuade them from their possessions, and they’d refuse to grant ransom demands which would be damned naughty. Become ruthless and you may become rich, your reputation will be just and your victims will forever tremble in your presence.

Happy hunting…

Related Soundtrack

Starbase/POS Defensive Configuration

The Control Tower's defense setting tab will determine the criteria by which the tower will attack people nearby.


Attack if standing is lower than: 0.00 ENABLED

If any pilot with a standing (applies only to the pilot's player corporation standings towards the POS's owner corporation) lower than the value you type into the box gets in range of the starbase then the tower will attack.

Means: Enemies of the Corp (negative corp standing) will be attacked.

Attack if security status below: DISABLED

If any pilot with a security status lower than the value you type into the box gets in range of the starbase then the tower will attack that player - prevent POS attacking your members with bad sec ratings.

Attack if our standing is dropping: ENABLED

If any pilot with a standing (applies only to the pilot's player corporation standings towards the POS's owner corporation) that is decreasing while the player is in range of the starbase then the tower will attack.

Means: Any Corp setting us as an enemy (giving us a negative corp standing) will be attacked.

Attack if other security status is dropping: DISABLED

If any pilot commits an act that causes their security status to drop while they are near the starbase, it will attack them (does not have to be a negative sec rating just a drop) - stops POS attacking non-corp fleet members that attacking an enemy.

Attack if aggression: ENABLED

If any player makes an aggressive action while near the starbase (firing on someone, using ECM, attacking with drones etc.) INCLUDING members of the corporation or alliance that anchored the starbase, the starbase will attack them.

Attack if at war: ENABLED

If any pilot, who is at war with your corporation or alliance, warps to the moon where the starbase is located, the tower will attack that player.

Control Tower Defensive State

• Shields = 50%-100% - can do anything with the POS.
• Shields = below 50% - can no longer add strontium clathrates or online/use CPU-requiring structures.
• Shields = 25% - POS goes into reinforced mode.

Control Tower Reinforced Mode

• The tower remains in stasis (invulnerable) for a time equal to the amount of strontium clathrates it contains in it's Strontium Fuel Store.
• No CPU is produced, so all CPU-requiring structures are offline.
• The tower cannot accept fuel, and uses twice as much of the non-strontium fuels per hour as normal.

As attacks normally occur at the enemy's peak online time, you should have enough strontium clathrates to run in reinforced mode for a long enough time that ends nowhere near the enemy's peak time, ie. 12 or 36 hours of strontium clathrates are ideal.

Procedure for POS Defense After Reinforced Mode

• Refuel with more strontium clathrates
• Get as many pilots in remote shield repping ospreys as possible to rep the shields back to 50%.
• Remote rep armor and hull any of your POS structures that were offlined by the attack, and online them again.
• Finish repping the shield to 100%

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