Tanks vs Spaceships

Down to the rusty, nitty-gritty - a dusty vision...and free to play.



Related Links
World of Tanks (official website)

“Let there be more light!”

As we continue to embellish the planets littering the void with resource plantations, imagine the awe if our control of their respective resources could be visible; visualize a world covered with lights dependant on where and what type of colony is installed upon or above the planets surface(s). Presently the only clear evidence of inhabitants are a few sparse icons viewable only if attempting to install a command centre.

Some planets represent glittering beacons of civilisation amongst the vast void, but they tend to be core systems and usually relate to population density or significance, eg: Amarr home-world.

There’s value to allow colonial pilots to imprint their claim upon a corner of terra firma, a splendid visual recognition of their commitment and accomplishment. This in-turn would produce a visually dynamic landscape with content updated indefinitely, making New Eden more diverse in it's appearance.

With the advancement of space flight and the turnover of resources that brings; there must be a supply chain of industry mining and manufacturing all these elements, much of which must come from the lost minerals of all the settled planets contained within the gargantuan galaxy. High density core systems would naturally have less resources as they have already seen the seeds of industry. Perhaps this effect is-in-fact what's erroneously absent from many planets; the hive of heavy industry plaguing the planet surface. These systems should illuminate; their lights huddled together in vast factories, linked by dusty pockets of faint fluorescence. A distinct difference to the lights visible only from within orbit, identifying the effect as indigenous or colonial.


The idea is subject to perversion; a trait typical of us all. Some may find ways of improper displays of some vile joke, the planet; a giant canvas for insult! One can only hope. There-in lies the problem with pilot created content. But long ago CCP should've realised one critical factor with this type of platform; the greatest asset New Eden possesses is it's community. We enrich the galaxy with our ingenuity and variation and it is this quality that CCP looks to embrace.

Happy hunting…

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Control Freak

The POD's interpretation of our minds will upon the vessel's interface has barely evolved from the monster it bore; tiny tabs and minute buttons. The ability to remain calm under fire is surely very important if the orders of the mind are to be translated effectively through the POD and thus instruct the ship with reasonable speed or accuracy.

Thus the specific use of the ergonomic mouse interface is unwieldy at times. A better preference is the keyboard which is much quicker at translating instructions and negates the need for a high DPI device or a steady flat surface for successful use. One can, for instance, command the vessel no matter the physical position of your avatar – no hard surface required. This method of control then, is purely about tactical decision making and is limited only by the speed of the mind.

The powers that be should look again at the interface and introduce a method of control that does not require the pilot to have precision skills to hit minute buttons within the maelstrom of icons and boxes; the luxury of a large view-screen/high DPI mouse a significant advantage.

There’s already a plethora of programmable shortcuts available to every ship, but they do not include the cycling of targets, approach, orbit, lock, keep at range, warp – mostly navigational commands. I appreciate that many pilots may be content with the scheme as it is, but improvements can always be made. EvE Online must surely be more about decisions based on experience and tactical savvy, rather than the deftness to pilot an icon into a small box to take proper flight.

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Time to Kill...

Running a corporation or an alliance must be incredibly consuming, especially as New Eden waits for no-one. Time; the most precious of all commodities.

I currently run my own miniature corporation; a population of half a dozen, but not to a level which would require my constant presence to protect industrial and territorial assets and maintain the obedience and respect of the group. And although I have also commanded my own gangs in battle I cannot confess to being tactically savvy enough to undertake the responsibility of a full fleet.

There are those that own/manage corporations set amidst the darkest voids in null sec and in our Empires. Their commitment to New Eden’s status quo is surpassed only by the powers that be (CCP). I’d assume these individuals to be independently wealthy or may have some other purpose granting the freedom to commit great swathes of lifetime nurturing their respective clans. The attributes of such individuals must converge on similar grounds, many may already be versed in the art of management and motivation to maintain the vast gaggle of egocentric players, all vying for their slice of fame/respect/fear/loathing.

To kill a CEO is one of my personal goals in this life, and would be an honour. Locating a CEO is easy but combat with such not so, I’d assume many don’t have the luxury to spend their time in the void occupying them-selves by whim, instead they are locked in a prison of their own making, micro managing various abstract interfaces. It’s not something I’d aspire to, although I understand the lure as I understand Miners and Makers.

A CEO’s ALT must be their most valuable asset if their identity is withheld. The ability to pass unnoticed through any non-specific space is something we take for granted, but a CEO of a particularly large/famed corporation/alliance cannot guarantee they will remain unmolested for any length of time if travelling alone. I expect many to use ALTs to lead a separate and completely different life to their main, a taste of the virtual freedom commonly enjoyed by the masses.

It is curious that we persistently relish stress, risk and loss for fun, friendship and faction loot! I have great respect to those elite few whom manage to manage on a daily basis much of the structure found within our galaxy. New Eden’s populace in majority needs leaders, pioneers and those with the courage to make the decisive decisions whether right or not. Without them New Eden would surely be a much lonelier and chaotic realm. Now if only I could find one outside.

Happy (CEO) hunting…

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The Star Trek Legacy

Star Trek is the most successful franchise ever to grace a CRT. Star Trek has a massive worldwide following, and at the time was at the cutting edge of modern thinking when it was first aired. Star Trek's creator; Gene Roddenberry's integrity bucked popular opinion and it's creation made for one of the most important and unique programs of the 20th century. Before Gene Roddenberry's legacy it was unheard of to have a Russian(Chekov) working aboard a predominantly american-esque crew or a black female officer(Uhura) on the bridge of a powerful starship.

Although very dated by today's comparison, Star Trek's special effects were cherished by the millions that watched it and thankfully the tales it told were equally fresh, but after a life span of 3 series, Star Trek as we knew it was finally cancelled in 1969 due to poor ratings and writing.

In 1979 and after immense pressure from the sturdy fan-base; Star Trek was resurrected on the silver screen in: Star Trek; the Motion Picture, still one of my favourite films to date. Many years later and the franchise is still going and growing strong on several media fronts, including an MMO; Star Trek Online.

The quality of Star Trek can be debated many times over. It's clear that the pressure to keep the franchise alive led to some poor choices throughout it's long history, but it's depiction of a tolerant and inclusive universe, the curiosity of the human race to expand it's knowledge is well known and respected.

There are many reasons why Star Trek is still with us and it's Trekkie brand of fans penetrate every facet of the society; their passion for the idealised future will always be a part of our culture. Star Trek is here to stay and is welcome on my screen anytime, even when it's simply appalling.



Related Links
Star Trek (official website)
Star Trek; the Motion Picture (dvd)
Star Trek Online (official website)

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Pioneer Space Sim

You may recall my disposition toward an ancient game called Frontier-Elite II. As a representation of our galaxy it was unmatched in scope, ambition and technical accomplishment. However, as our appetite for the visually sublime has snowballed, Frontier has not aged well.

Fortunately I am not the only freak passionate about such a sim and therefore a fan-made version is currently in development. I am pleased to link the alpha version which is fully playable, if a little unstable.


A Venusian sunrise - pressure 13.82 bar.


An ancient valley orbiting a gas giant.


Scoping for a landing site.



It's worth noting that Pioneer uses Fractal mathematics to generate its worlds. A great deal of trust has been put into the equations and it's very effective. There have been times I have been utterly astonished at the visuals produced by this homage. Every world is generated procedurally and it's this approach to simulating the cosmoss which is simple yet incredibly powerful.

A word of warning; as this is an alpha - save often and try not to run much else simultaneously for the best performance.

Related Links
Pioneer Space Sim (alpha download)
Frontier - Elite II
Chaos Pro (fractal generator)

Real 3D

Eve Online is a virtual three dimensional game. To remove the 'virtuality' is to bring New Eden into the tangible universe. Aside from spending billions developing a machine that can somehow transplant binary into molecular mass I suggest building with the ancient legendary structure blocks, commonly know as Lego. Sure the craft wouldn't operate as expected without depleted uranium and capacitor, but that is entirely subject to the imagination of the beholder.



Upon enthusiastically raiding the old storage silos, I intend to build a life size Avatar! Now if only I had enough 2erds in yellow...

Related Links
LDD (download)

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Mr Anonymous

With the advent of the new character editor I find myself abstaining from the silly sliders and monotone fancy dress. My choice to remain faceless, driven by the disappointment of losing my carefully created profile picture.

Despite technical reasons I'm annoyed that, after replacing my profile image twice and having to pay extra costs for the privilege, this image is now no longer possible using the fiddly inadequate suite. Whomever made this decision not to represent the same choices of clothes, hair and face as previously possible has seriously undermined mine, nay our right to choose how we look in New Eden.

I was perfectly happy with the way I looked but without the ability to recreate any image even remotely similar has forced me to make this choice to remain faceless. And besides, I kinda like being a ghost anyway, it's sort-of unsettling and may serve a greater purpose than my angry brow ever could. So until such time as CCP decides to grant us with the same choices we were blessed with previously, I will remain as a ghost indefinitely.

Petition: Can I have the cash that I paid to change my profile picture back in my pocket? I await a response, but I already know the answer...

Related Links
Profile/Bio

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The Dark Age

Approximately 1000 hours ago my ISP spectacularly failed whilst I was deep in a class 3 wormhole snooping for Sleeper sites. Stranded in hostile space there was no choice but to melt into the void, for now.

But all is not lost as I have a loyal engineer en-route to my vessel, the cloak now severely deteriorating my sense of being, It took my crew 50 hours to fashion a garbled message into the core systems to request assistance from an ally. I have been assured that this engineer will meet me at the predetermined location within the wormhole to repair my vessel; the previous attempt assumed astray.

Once repairs have been completed I will return to the daily grind of grinding grumbling gamers in the virtual void. Did you miss me?