Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Drone Bay is back!

The Drone Bay podcast is back after a long hiatus. I'm sure if you're reading my little blog, you already know this, but who knows. Anyway, I have a real soft spot in my heart for The Drone Bay because it is the podcast that really helped me figure out how to play Eve Online after floundering around on my own for my first few weeks on a trial account.

You can learn more about The Drone Bay at http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=17. Enjoy!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The great skill-up slowdown

One of the interesting things about Eve Online is that there is no experience points. All skills are learned by studying skill books, and the learning goes on around the clock, whether you are playing or not. This has some advantages and disadvantages. One advantages are that you can continue progressing even if you are not able to play very often. On the downside, there is no way to "power level" a character by working hard and grinding.

Anyway, something interesting happens when you hit 1.6 million skill points that I didn't realize: you slow down by a lot! It turns out that you earn the first 1.6 million skill points at double the normal rate. I don't know how to put this information to use for a new player, but perhaps this might work. If you have several skills to train and you are about to pass the 1.6 million SP mark, train one that takes the longest. I think that you will train at double speed for the whole skill, even if the majority of it is over 1.6 million points. There: advice...

Anyway, it kind of sucks that skills take so much longer now. I will have been training Astrogeology V for over 2 weeks now!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

New Corp!

As I mentioned in my last post, I applied for a position in Phoenix Propulsion Labs. I'm happy to tell you that I was accepted into the corporation a few days ago. I am officially a cadet in PPL.

So far things have been going very well. The other corp members are very friendly and helping me along quite nicely. It is a whole different ballgame, though, working in a corporation that has actual work to get done to service its external customers. In Eve University, the corp members are the closest thing to customers for the most part.

Since joining a few days ago, some of the highlights since I have been a member have been helping out as a sentry for a low sec ice mining operation and participating in a pretty extensive mining operation for a discovered asteroid field.

Being in a "real" corporation is really different, and quite a bit different than Eve University. So far I'm enjoying it much more.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Out of the University

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I was thinking of dropping out of Eve U. Well, I dropped from the corp a few days ago when I was finally able to fly my Retriever. I just couldn't stand not being able to take my new toy out and use it!

I also started to look into other corporations that might be a good fit for me. I contacted CrazyKinux about his corp, Phoenix Propulsion Labs, and it sounded like a good fit. I went through the interview process today and hope to get accepted soon.

I feel a bit guilty about leaving Eve University (if it happens), especially given that this feels like exactly what the griefers are trying to accomplish. On the other hand, I pay money every month to play this game, and would like to have some fun doing it.

We'll see how it goes with the app. In some ways it feels like applying for a real job!